Worlds Collide
by Amelia-Hawke
Summary: S4-ish. When Sam starts having visions again, despite Yellow Eyes being dead, Dean is left with few options but to call his ex girlfriend, Karis, for help. His ex is less than impressed but she decides to help Sam. Unfortunately, searching for answers may lead them to find more than they bargained for and a demon they might not be able to defeat. DeanxOC
1. Favours

**Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters except for Karis Drakos and her family. I will also be tweaking mythology and the like to better fit the **_**Supernatural**_** world.**

**Setting: This is set somewhere in Season 4 – haven't quite figured out where but let's say, a few months after the first episode but before breaking the seals gets really urgent.**

**Spoilers: This will contain spoilers from Season 1 through to the end of Season 4 however I may work some characters in from later seasons, such as Garth and Charlie. There will be spoiler warnings for those chapters.**

**Warning: I will be drawing from Greek and Roman Mythology a lot for this, maybe even Egyptian Mythology too. I won't push further than the series already has but not everyone will like it. As long as you at least give it a try, I understand it won't be for everyone.**

**Rating: The rating is for language, violence and sexual implications.**

**Update Schedule: I will aim for Mondays but me and update schedules have a on again/off again relationship.**

**Chapter layout: I've modelled this after the series so basically, there's one larger storyline (i.e. what's happening with Sam) with chapters in between focused on hunts or at some point, getting closer to an answer. I have no clue how long this fic will be but I hope you enjoy it.**

**And finally… I know I haven't updated my **_**Mass Effect**_** stories in a while but I seriously needed a break from that fandom after focusing on it for so long. I haven't given up on it – I just need a distraction.**

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**Chapter 1: Favours**

Karis Drakos reached across the table and picked up the cool bottle of beer but paused before drinking it. This bar was not the cleanest one around nor did it attract the best clientele. The jukebox was really old and the music was likewise but somehow, it always seemed packed. Perhaps it was the promise of cold beer and a really great cheeseburger. Or maybe it was just the free wi-fi and the fact that no one would look twice at what she was up to. Yet, despite the shady appearance, Karis actually had some pretty good memories here, back when she was dating…

Karis mentally slapped herself and finally drank some beer. It had been close to five years since he promised he would call and then disappeared without a word. Work did a good job of keeping her mind off him when it became clear he wasn't actually going to call but quiet moments like these helped the memories and thoughts sneak up on her. Instead, she drew her dark green eyes away from the makeshift dance floor near the jukebox and focused on her items on the table in front of her hoping this would distract her. The table was along the far wall, not quite in the corner but far away enough that no one noticed her.

Her laptop was plugged into the wall and a couple of newspapers were spread across the table's surface without any discernible pattern. A very thick and worn journal was placed between the wall and her elbow so it was hidden but also within easy reach if she needed it. At the moment, it was closed with no hint at the contents. A pad of paper was sitting between Karis and her laptop and she was absently clicking the pen in her left hand while holding the beer in her right hand. A messenger bag was on the seat, once again between her and the wall so there was no chance someone could take it from her. She had learnt that she couldn't be too careful with her belongings.

Karis was wearing a black leather jacket with an off centre zipper over a dark blue tank top. Her dark blue jeans were covered by a pair of flat, black knee high leather boots that were stylish yet functional since she kept a backup dagger (made of pure iron, naturally) in her right boot in a custom made sheath just behind her heel and a set of lockpicking tools for emergencies in her left boot, just below the knee in a well concealed pouch. Her long straight black hair was tied back in a pony and her medium length fringe was styled diagonally across her forehead (to hide a small cut that she'd received on a job a few nights back) so it went behind her right ear and then joined the rest of her hair in the ponytail. Typically, she didn't see the point of wearing makeup but she had recently discovered that black eyeliner did make her job easier when dealing with the man folk.

Finally, she kept a dagger strapped around the middle of her left forearm with the hilt close to her wrist but placed strategically where no one would see it by accident or feel it if they grabbed her by the wrist. Karis had been carrying it there for so long, she no longer even noticed that it was there. This dagger though was special. It had been a gift from her father when she'd turned 18 and had successfully completed her first solo hunt. The way he told the story, hunters that lived a long time ago had made an attempt to make weapons that could kill anything: the metal was a unique mix of silver and iron and cooled in holy water. Most of the weapons were lost over the years, probably scattered by demons or some such thing so Karis made sure to keep the dagger near at all times. The 9mm handgun she kept in her bag didn't hurt either.

Karis sighed quietly as she finished her beer and still wasn't close to finding a job. The problem wasn't a lack of opportunities though. For some odd reason, work really picked up over the last couple of weeks. Demon possessions, omens and witchcraft were at an all-time high and those were the ones she recognised immediately. There were even weirder things happening that she had no idea how to explain yet alone stop. Karis was about to resort to flipping a coin between a possible werewolf two towns over and what looked like a vampire nest in the next state when her cellphone unexpectedly started ringing.

She reached into the pocket of her jacket and inspected the caller ID: _Bobby Singer_.

"Hey, Bobby," she answered and started to clean up her newspaper collection. A call from Bobby was usually followed by a hasty exit. "What do you need?"

"_Hey, Karis. I need a favour,"_ was Bobby's gruff reply.

Bobby was like her uncle so they both knew she wouldn't turn him down. "How can I help?"

"_Would you mind coming over? It'll be easier to talk in person."_

Karis leant forward to check her laptop's screen to see what the time was and calculated how long it would take to drive to Bobby's. "Sure, I'll be there around noon."

"_And pick up a six pack on your way, would you?"_

Before she could ask if they were expecting company, Bobby hung up and she glanced at her phone. "Bye to you too," she murmured and put it back in her pocket.

She packed away her stuff in her messenger bag, put some money on the table and headed to her car. It was a grey and silver Ford Mustang Shelby. It was a recent model too since her last car had been totalled in an unfortunate accident involving a seriously pissed off ghost. Luckily, she had managed to grab her hunter paraphernalia before the authorities showed up although, she had to admit, putting that ghost down became personal after that. Regardless of how new it was and how long she'd owned her previous car for, she loved her Mustang. She tossed her bag into the trunk that expertly hid her large assortment of books, weapons and other really weird stuff and climbed into the driver's seat.

Since Bobby asking for a favour in person was not a good sign, Karis made the decision to drive all night. She only stopped once at a 24 hour fast food restaurant to get an extra strong coffee and then continued on her way. When she reached Sioux Falls, she stopped by to grab the ordered six pack at a small gas station and then finally reached _Singer's Salvage Yard_. As she got out of the car with the six pack in hand, she pulled her black lensed aviator sunglasses down so they sat on the bridge of her nose and looked around at the stacks of dusty, broken cars. She hadn't been here in a few months and somehow, it looked exactly the same. Some things never changed. With a wry smile, she pushed her sunglasses back up and headed for the door.

Karis knocked on the door, even though she had a set of keys in case of emergencies or if she needed a place to crash and Bobby was out of town, and waited until a young man answered. She hadn't seen him before and yet there was something familiar about him that she couldn't place. His brown hair reached his jawline and he had the build of a hunter. He was easily much taller than her and was very confused by her appearance.

She held up the six pack as if it explained her sole purpose for being there. "Beer delivery for Mr Bobby Singer."

He smiled at that and stepped aside to let her in. Well, at least he had a good sense of humour. Karis removed her sunglasses once she stepped in and hooked them on her tank top. She turned to face the young man. "Where is the old man?"

He smiled again. "I wouldn't call him that to his face," he advised even as he tried to hide his amusement.

Karis smirked. "You don't like living dangerously?"

This time he didn't try to hide his amusement and held his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Sam."

She took his hand and shook it. "Karis." He was confused by the uncommon name but hid it well. "It's Greek," she explained. "And better than the alternative."

"What was the alternative?" Sam asked and he sounded genuinely curious.

"Anatola," she answered as though the distaste should have been obvious.

"That isn't…too bad," Sam tried but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself too.

Karis scoffed good-naturedly. "It sounds like a pasta dish." She put on a clichéd rich person accent. "I'll have one Anatola, please, and do hold the mushrooms, sport."

Sam snorted. "You make a good point."

Karis grinned. "I like you," she decided. "You actually have a sense of humour."

"Now that ain't something I hear often about Sam," Bobby announced as he entered the room.

Karis was about to reply with something witty when someone else followed Bobby into the room: Dean Winchester. All amusement drained from her face and Dean froze by the doorway. Karis guessed she was the last person he expected to walk through that door but then again, she felt the same way about him. Five years without even so much as a text message and he calmly walks into the room like he's done nothing wrong. To say she was angry was an understatement but she knew how to keep her emotions in check. She could also tell Sam was looking between her and Dean, trying to figure out what just happened. She should have realised sooner that he was Sam Winchester, Dean's little brother.

Instead of marching over to Dean and demanding an explanation, she glanced over at Bobby. "If this is the favour, I'm going to need something stronger than beer," she said.

Bobby gave her a look that clearly said 'like I'm interested in your personal life'. "Relax, Karis. This is strictly business."

"Isn't it always?" she asked when she'd made eye contact with Dean. Then she walked over to Bobby's desk and put the six pack down. "So, what is this favour I drove all night for?"

"You know your demons, right?" Bobby began and Karis was immediately suspicious. "Names, hierarchies and that sorta stuff."

Karis refused to look in Dean's direction so she focused on the fact that Bobby was trying very hard to make this sound like a casual enquiry. "It's impossible to know all demons but I suppose I do."

"How much do you know about the Yellow Eyed Demon?" Sam asked. Since Karis didn't know him very well, she couldn't be sure that he was following Bobby's lead but she suspected as much.

A part of her couldn't believe she drove all night for them to play coy with her so she decided to do the same. "That he's dead and a Winchester killed him."

Dean made a frustrated noise and she still refused to look in his direction.

"Karis," Bobby sighed in annoyance.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You know more than that," Bobby said.

"Maybe I do and maybe I don't," she replied. "What I do know is that I didn't drive all night to be treated like this or lured in to help him." She motioned in Dean's general direction and then headed for the front door. "Call me when you decide to actually tell me what's going on."

Karis reached her car and had just opened the driver's side door when Bobby called her. She didn't climb into the car but casually leant against its side with the door still open just to prove that she was serious about leaving if she didn't get some sort of explanation. She usually wasn't one for dramatic exits but she really didn't enjoy being taken by surprise, especially by someone she respected.

"Dammit, Karis," Bobby almost shouted at her. "Are you really going to turn your back on him?"

Karis glanced up at the window and saw Sam and Dean were watching. She had no idea if they could hear what she said though. "Why not? He did it to me."

Bobby's anger softened. "Because you are a better person than us. You're right, it wasn't fair of me to just spring him on you but I didn't think you would come if I told you he was here."

Karis looked down. "You're right, I probably wouldn't have." Then she looked at Bobby. "Why the shifty behaviour?"

Bobby crossed his arms and nodded in the direction of the house. "Couldn't we do this inside?" When she didn't budge and only raised an eyebrow in answer, his annoyed look returned. "Sam's request, not mine."

Karis was silent and still for a few long minutes, trying to convince herself that she could just walk away from this even though her conscience would never allow it. Then, when she came to a decision, she stood up and closed the car door harder than necessary. "Fine, Bobby."

Bobby smiled. "Now that's the Karis I know."

She grabbed her messenger bag from her trunk just in case and followed Bobby back in. Once inside the house, she dropped down on the couch, placed her bag on the floor beside her feet and looked at Sam expectantly. Sam sat on the edge of an armchair nearby and fidgeted while he tried to figure out what to say. Karis risked a glance at Dean. He looked concerned and maybe a bit worried but he didn't disagree with the decision to tell her everything which seemed odd since he could be over protective, especially when telling people the whole truth about something. When she looked over at Bobby, he looked grim. She settled her gaze back on Sam, thinking over some of the rumours she'd heard about him.

"You're one of his children," she guessed and when she noticed their confusion, she clarified. "One of Azazel's Special Children."

Sam was completely taken off guard. "I didn't think anyone else knew about them."

Karis reached into her bag and pulled out the journal. It was much thicker, older and more worn that John Winchester's journal. She paged through its contents quickly, stopped at a page that had faded to a yellowish shade over time and gave it to Sam. The information had been written in Greek with sketches and even a few newspaper articles from other European countries stuck in. One article was from London, describing a fire that killed a family on the child's 6 month birthday. Sam looked over the contents and then looked up at her.

"My grandfather with four greats in the title wrote that," Karis explained. "At the time, he thought he was just tracking a powerful demon but then he picked up on the fires in places that the demon had visited before. Since the standards of maturity were different back then, the Children were showing signs of their powers when they turned 16. Based on what he wrote, it wasn't pretty. A lot of civilians were killed, either intentionally or as collateral damage."

"Why didn't your grandfather do something to stop him?" Dean suddenly demanded.

Karis was silent for a moment. "He did. He killed everyone he even suspected of being one of the Children without even double checking. He reasoned that it was better to be safe. Then, when he thought he had found them all, he decided to go after Azazel. He didn't stop to try to figure out what he wanted or why he was doing it in the first place or consider just how powerful Azazel really was."

Sam looked up from the journal. "What happened?"

"Azazel killed him," Karis continued. "Azazel let my great-great-great-great grandfather believe he had the upper hand but, in truth, Azazel always had the upper hand and set a trap. The next two generations of my family scoured Europe trying to find Azazel. Demons typically stay in the country – or continent, at the very least – where they came out of Hell. But, despite their best efforts, Azazel had disappeared without a trace. My great grandfather didn't want to risk losing anyone else to Azazel so, still following that logic, he moved the family here. Since they didn't think Azazel was here, they didn't try to track him until my grandfather learnt about your father."

Sam frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Karis' grandfather and father helped get me started with Hunting," Bobby interjected. "They did the same for your daddy."

Sam looked over at Dean for confirmation although she didn't see his answer and then looked at her again. "They were helping him hunt the demon?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Karis answered. "My father didn't want me involved in anything related to Azazel. He didn't want me on the demon's radar in case things went wrong. I do know that our fathers had a disagreement about it and stopped hunting together after that."

Sam closed her journal and passed it back. "I'm sorry about before. It's just in our experience, other hunters aren't as understanding about all…this."

Karis packed her journal away and then gave Sam a slightly confused look. "You're the one Gordon Walker was going on about?" She snorted in mild amusement at the memory of one of the few occasions when she wasn't regarded as the craziest person in the room.

Sam shared another look with Dean. "You knew Gordon?"

"I even had the misfortune of enduring one of his recruitment spiels," Karis said. "I can't remember how he put it since I was pretty drunk at the time but no one took him seriously since no one else knew about the children or even thought it was possible."

"You dealt with Gordon when drunk?" Bobby suddenly demanded. Given Gordon's reputation of being dangerous and enjoying torture, dealing with him at all required a clear mind.

Karis shrugged. "I was sober when he started."

"Very reassuring," Bobby replied.

Karis waved Bobby off and then looked back at Sam. "A lot of hunters see the world in black and white. It's either human or it isn't and if it isn't human, it should be dead."

"You disagree?" Sam asked.

"My family has been hunting for a long time," she answered. "After killing so many things and learning about even more, you start to realise that nothing can ever be truly black and white. One thing my father told me is that the Children didn't choose to exist, they didn't ask for the demon blood. It wasn't fair to punish them for something they didn't even know about since many Children didn't even know demons existed." Karis paused for a moment. "As interesting as all this has been, what does any of it have to do with me? Ol' Yellow Eyes is dead."

"Is it possible for dead demons to come back?" Sam asked.

Karis thought about it, considering everything she knew about demons. "Not as far as I know. I mean, exorcised demons are one thing but you killed him with the Colt, if the rumours are true. There's nothing to bring back. No one knows where dead demons go but many believe they cease to exist." She suddenly got a sinking feeling about this line of questioning.

Sam took a deep breath, like he was preparing himself for admitting the truth out loud. "When the demon was around, I used to get visions…premonitions about what was going to happen but they usually involved others like me or were somehow linked to him. When he died, the visions stopped…until now."

"Until now?" Karis repeated. "That doesn't sound good."

"Over the past few weeks, I've been getting visions again but they're not very clear and a lot of time passes between them," Sam admitted.

"Do you know of any demons that are capable of taking over from the Yellow Eyed Demon?" Dean asked. Karis had completely forgotten he was even in the room since Dean was rarely that quiet.

She didn't dismiss his idea or snap at him either which she could tell they were all expecting after her initial reaction. "Lucifer and Azazel are unique among their kind," Karis said. "Lucifer is a fallen angel while Azazel is the only known yellow eyed demon to exist. Given their ranks within demons, it would be safe to assume that other than black eyes indicates more power than the average demon. I don't think, presently, a demon with Azazel's power exists anymore."

"What about Lilith?" Dean asked and it sounded like he was trying to sound calm while saying her name.

"She may have the power to do it but she lacks the motivation," Karis pointed out. "Azazel has been dead for – what? – 3 years? Why now?"

"I don't know," Sam murmured quietly.

Karis thought back to something Sam had mentioned. "You said that your visions were usually related to others like you or the demon. Maybe if we figure out what you're seeing or what they want, we can figure out who's doing it."

"We?" Dean repeated and it was hard to identify the emotion in his voice, whether he approved of the idea or was annoyed by it.

Karis didn't look at him. "Bobby called in a favour so I'm going to see this through."

"The visions aren't clear and I have no idea when I'll have another one…if I have another one," Sam added.

"Looks like you're going hunting with the boys," Bobby suddenly pointed out.

Karis looked over at him and noticed he seemed particularly pleased with the idea. It was also at that moment that she realised what she had just volunteered herself for. Having a conversation with Sam while Dean was in the room was one thing. She wasn't exactly expecting to get along with Dean or even cooperate with him. But going hunting with him? That meant trusting him with her life and she wasn't entirely sure she could do that. She wasn't even sure she could keep her emotions under control long enough to solve a case. But seeing Sam so worried and confused brought out Karis' older sibling instincts. She would want someone to help her little sister if they could.

"I guess I am," she commented.

"Really?" Sam asked hopefully.

"There's no guarantee I can actually help and this will only be temporary," Karis said firmly. "But yes, assuming I'm welcome." She glanced in Dean's direction and he nodded in response. "Now that that's sorted, I need sleep so I'll be in my car."

"You're sleeping in your car?" Bobby asked incredulously.

Karis shrugged. "Since none of you are going to take a nap, it's going to be too noisy in here for me…so yes, I will be sleeping in my car."

Without any further explanation, Karis carried her bag back to her car, put it back in the trunk and climbed in the backseat of her car. Since she was the only one to use it, she kept a pillow and blanket on the floor, just in case she ever found herself in a situation where she couldn't get a motel room or needed to keep warm during a stakeout. She got herself nice and comfortable before closing her eyes and falling asleep almost immediately.

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Dean watched Karis walk out and couldn't help wondering if she was considering driving off. While it was unlike her to go back on her word, he wouldn't have blamed her. A part of him also wondered if her coming along was such a good idea. Karis was beautiful, tough, dependable and intelligent. She was quick on her feet and usually didn't let her emotions govern her decisions. All in all, Karis was an excellent Hunter so there was no reason for Dean to not want her around. He had been the one to suggest calling her in the first place, mostly because he trusted her with Sammy's life. And yet, the idea of being around her 24/7 was not as appealing as it should have been.

He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was worried that Karis might just forgive him, despite the fact that he believed he didn't deserve forgiveness. Five years ago, things between them were getting pretty serious and he told her he needed time to figure things out. He promised he would call, regardless of what he decided…and he broke that promise. Karis was someone who never made a promise she couldn't keep and wouldn't break a promise without a very good reason therefore someone breaking a promise to her was inexcusable. Dean hadn't figured out why he hadn't called her so if she was expecting an explanation, she was in for a shock.

"Karis seems nice," Sammy suddenly said, bringing Dean out of his thoughts.

Bobby smiled in slight amusement. "Don't let her looks fool you, son. She's one of the deadliest hunters out there. Been hunting since she was sixteen but her daddy was teaching her long before that."

"Why didn't Dad ever mention her?" Sam asked.

"You were at Stanford when Dad and her father had their falling out," Dean answered. "And before that, you weren't all that interested in other hunters."

"But you obviously were," Sam pointed out and then recognised Dean's expression immediately. "You dated Karis, didn't you?"

Before Dean could try to change the subject, Bobby interjected. "For four years, they were together."

Sam looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Four years? I would have been around."

"That first year didn't count," Dean argued irritably.

Bobby gave him that stern fatherly look. "It counted to her."

"And it was just before you left for Stanford and you and Dad were constantly fighting."

Dean had no plans to talk about this anymore. Unfortunately, Sam had other ideas.

"So?" Sam prompted.

Dean looked at him blankly. "What?"

Sam looked impatient. "What happened between you two?"

Dean looked to Bobby for help but when he got none, he sighed in annoyance. "Can we please move on?"

Bobby obviously thought Sam deserved an answer but he dropped the subject. "Are you sure hunting right now is a good idea?"

Sam also looked like he wanted to press the issue but chose not to. "I don't know when another vision is going to come but that doesn't mean we should just ignore everything else that's going on. Besides, if they are still as draining as the last ones have been, we have an extra gun with us."

Bobby was silent as he looked between them. "All right but look after each other. And her. Karis may not need a babysitter but she's been through a lot since you last saw her, Dean."

Dean frowned. "What do you mean?"

Bobby just shook his head. "That's her story to tell, if she chooses to tell it."

Dean couldn't help looking out the window and wondering what could have happened. Without another word, he and Sam started looking for a case. They had been looking for maybe an hour when Karis came back inside and after a groggy greeting, she headed straight for the refrigerator. He couldn't stop himself from noticing that she looked good. Really good. And she'd let her hair grow. Last time he saw her, she'd cut it short and kept it close to her jawline. Long hair seemed to suit her. Dean quickly refocused his attention in front of him and tried his best to ignore Sam's smug expression.

"Feeling well rested?" Bobby asked. "I have to assume so if you're raiding my fridge already."

Karis straightened and turned to face Bobby, holding an old pizza box. "It doesn't count if there's nothing edible in there. How old is this pizza?" She sniffed it, grimaced and then dropped the whole box in the garbage.

"Hey, I was saving that," Bobby suddenly moaned.

Karis raised an eyebrow. "I think I just saved you, Bobby. That pizza could probably kill you."

"What is it with you and cleaning out my fridge?" Bobby demanded gruffly.

"Someone has to do it," Karis replied with an innocent expression. "Besides, whiskey doesn't count as a food group and we worry about you."

"It's made with water," Bobby argued.

"I think I have something here," Sam informed everyone loudly.

"What did you find, Sammy?" Dean asked, before Bobby and Karis continued their argument anyway.

"A couple of hikers went missing in the Yellow Stone National Park," Sam read out loud.

"That sounds like something for the park rangers," Dean replied.

"Listen to this: _one hiker came running out of the woods covered in long scratches and delirious. He claimed that their campsite was attacked by a walking tree and it carried his friends away in the middle of the night. Authorities sent him to the local hospital to recover_," Sam continued to read.

"Walking trees?" Dean asked in disbelief.

Sam shrugged helplessly but Karis had since walked into the room. "There is a first time for everything," she pointed out.

"Or the hikers got drunk and lost their way," Dean argued.

Karis walked over to Sam and looked at his laptop's screen over his shoulder. "_Two park rangers were dispatched following the initial report and have failed to check in. _I suppose they could have been eaten by a bear."

They all knew the chances of that were slim since park rangers were trained to handle such things and would know how to avoid any bears or how to deal with them without getting eaten. Karis was just proving a point.

Dean resisted the urge to sigh in annoyance and looked at her. "Are you ready to leave now?"

She still didn't look up from the screen. "I have a few bags to move." She looked up at Bobby. "Can I count on you to look after my car?"

Bobby looked insulted that she felt she had to ask. "Of course, Karis."

"Then I'll go unpack the trunk."

She walked out the front door and Dean waited a few minutes before following her out. If she was going to refuse to look at him this was going to be a very long trip. Once he reached her car, Karis was climbing out of the driver's seat with a few things in hand and then walked to the trunk. She put the stuff in her messenger bag which she took out and leant against the back tyre of her car. Dean knew her well enough to expect her to keep that with her in his car. She took out a larger sized duffle bag which she passed to him and then took out a second, smaller empty duffle which she then filled up with the weapons and other things she kept in the trunk for hunting. As soon as she was sure everything was in there, she zipped it up and also handed it to Dean.

Karis took out her keys and locked her car. "I'm just going to go give the keys to Bobby."

As she started to walk away, he said "Karis."

She stopped walking and finally turned to face him with a cautious expression on her face, probably picking up on the almost pleading tone. "Yes?"

"Thank you for helping Sam," he replied and he could tell she knew he meant it.

"I don't know how this is going to turn out," Karis admitted quietly. "But you should keep something in mind. Hell hasn't always been Hell."

Dean frowned. "I don't understand."

Karis was silent for a moment as she tried to figure out how to explain it. "In Greek mythology, it was the Underworld. For the Egyptians, it was the Afterlife. Before Hell, it still existed…just under different management with different rules and different places, unlike Heaven. Now that the Ancient Religions have faded, so has its power and now, it's all Hell but those souls that were already there didn't just disappear."

"You're saying that whatever is happening to Sammy…a demon may not be responsible?" Dean asked in a mixture of panic and concern.

"I'm saying it's a possibility," Karis clarified. "Nothing but demons have come out of Hell for decades. I hope I'm wrong, I really do but…"

"But it's something we need to consider," Dean finished for her.

"Unfortunately."

With that, she headed back up to the house with her bag over her shoulder. Dean walked over to his car and put her other bags in the trunk. Hunting with his ex to stop his little brother from getting visions from an unknown source that may or may not be older than demons and may or may not be linked to the Yellow Eyed Demon somehow did not sound fun. He almost missed the days when his father was missing. Things seemed much simpler then, especially since he and Sam didn't need to worry about demons going after the 66 seals to release Lucifer as well. Oh, and the angels were watching their every move to make sure they didn't somehow make the wrong decision and Dean was still dreaming about his time in Hell, something he hoped he could keep from Karis.

Things were about to get very interesting. Perhaps too interesting.


	2. When Trees Attack

**Three things I forgot to mention in the previous chapter:**

**1. I am not American therefore, I know nothing about the touristy places and such, so I will be relying on google maps, what I've seen on TV and whatever information I can find on the internet so I do apologise in advance if I make critical errors about where you're from or something like that. Feel free to shoot me a PM and I will do what I can to fix it.**

**2. I'm also still trying to figure out the flow of the story, as in how much information to put in chapters, when to swap character perspectives (most of the time, it will be Karis' perspective with Sam and Dean on occasion) and how much detail to go into for the cases. Since I'll be trying to avoid anything already seen in the series, this may prove difficult so any feedback would be appreciated. Also, if there is a certain monster or myth you would like featured, review or PM and I'll see what I can do.**

**3. After re-watching the beginning of Season 4 over the weekend, I realised I had forgotten about Sam using his powers with Ruby. As far as this part is concerned, let's say that Dean knows what they were up to and Sam agreed to stop so Dean still doesn't trust Ruby.**

**I wasn't expecting just a positive reaction to the first chapter. Thank you very much for the reviews, favourites and alerts.**

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**Chapter 2: When Trees Attack**

Karis sat in the backseat of the Impala and was trying her hardest not to get annoyed with Dean's choice in music. As far as she could tell, he still listened to the exact same music as when they were together. It wouldn't have been a problem except it seemed to be the only music he listened to and played. She glanced up from the tourist brochure she'd taken from a nearby gas station about the Yellow Stone National Park and noticed Sam's expression. It must have annoyed him far more than it annoyed her but she was all too familiar with Dean's 'driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole' approach and had received the lecture more than enough times so she knew not to comment.

It was getting late so Sam and Dean agreed they would pull off at the next motel they passed. Karis could tell they had spent a lot of time together so she was content to sit quietly in the back and let them continue with their dynamic duo thing. If everything went well, she wouldn't be around long enough to affect their routines or become the third wheel. Karis just wanted to help Sam figure out his visions and be done with it. Although, she had to admit, being around Dean again was weird. She'd spent so long being angry with him and herself that she never stopped to think what she would do ever she ever saw him again. Now that they were hunting together again, she was at a loss of what to do. It was far easier to be angry with him when he wasn't around and behaving like a good big brother.

Karis glanced up again just in time to meet Dean's gaze in the rear view mirror. She quickly looked at the brochure again, even though it was pretty hard to make anything out anymore since it got dark. They stopped when Sam spotted a sign for a motel and Dean went to handle the booking a room, presumably with one of his fake credit cards. Karis had to wonder how no one caught onto him with some of the ridiculous names he used. When he returned, they carried their bags into the room and Dean opened the door. The main bedroom was large and had two beds pushed against one wall. The opposite wall had windows looking out onto the parking lot with a small wooden table and four chairs just in front of it.

A door to their left opened into the bathroom which had the basics: a toilet, a sink and a medium sized showered. Opposite them was another door so Karis was surprised to find that Dean had booked a room with a separate bedroom just for her. She dropped her bags just inside the door and turned to face Sam and Dean.

"What's the plan for tomorrow?" she asked as she took note of the room's layout, just in case they needed to make a hasty getaway.

"Visit the witness in the morning and then head off to the park?" Sam suggested.

"Sounds good," Dean agreed.

"All right," Karis said, resisting the urge to yawn. "Good night then."

Despite her nap before leaving Bobby's, she was still very tired. She headed into her room and moved her bags into the tiny closet nestled in the corner. Even if she didn't unpack, the closet was still useful in removing the bags as a tripping hazard in the middle of the night. She changed out of her jeans into a pair of more comfortable sweat pants and hung her jacket up in the closet. She removed the knife from her forearm and put it underneath her pillow instead. She also retrieved her 9mm handgun from her messenger bag and put it in the bedside table's drawer with her cellphone sitting on its surface. Finally, she untied her hair and walked over to the mirror on the wall to examine the cut. It was healing nicely but still far too noticeable.

Having completed all necessary pre-bedtime tasks, Karis finally climbed beneath the covers and lay her head down on the pillows. If someone had told her this was how her day was going to turn out, she would have laughed in their face. Hunting with Dean Winchester again? Trying to figure out visions from a dead demon? Going after what sounded like a tree with homicidal tendencies? Who could come up with this sort of stuff? Sure, Karis had the odd run of bad luck here and there but this was a new one. Someone must really have it out for her somewhere.

Karis' eyes closed of their own accord and pretty soon, she was fast asleep. Things were looking promising that she would get a full night's sleep. Unfortunately, her subconscious had other ideas.

_The demon's meatsuit paced in front of her calmly with an almost predatory grin on his face. She was seated in an old wooden chair with her arms tied along the armrests of the chair. A piece of cloth had been secured around her mouth as a makeshift gag so she had to settle for glaring at him instead of hurling insults. Her lip was split, her left cheek was bruised and there was a cut on her forehead that had only recently stopped bleeding from when the demons had knocked her unconscious by hitting her with something very solid. The demon hadn't been shy about using the knife he held either._

_There was a deep horizontal cut along her upper right arm, just below her shoulder which had a makeshift bandage over it. The demons didn't want her passing out on them from blood loss, after all. A diagonal, superficial cut went across her throat since the demon was interested in proving a point. Finally, there was a long vertical cut along her left forearm, reaching from her elbow to just below her wrist. Her wrists were also cut but that was because of the rough rope that had been used to tie her up. She'd been a prisoner for days – her torturers alternated between taunting and physically hurting her and yet, they hadn't asked her a single question. Karis had no idea why they had taken her or why they were torturing her._

_The demon in charge stopping pacing and turned to face her, that grin still in place. Even without the demon possessing him, the meatsuit was creepy on his own. Did the demon possess a paedophile or a serial killer or something? Karis didn't scare easily yet this man was perhaps the creepiest looking person she'd ever met. He made her uncomfortable and as soon as his gaze shifted off her, she felt unbelievable relief. Not now, though. The only thing more disconcerting than the meatsuit's appearance was the way he handled that knife._

"_You see, my dear," the demon spoke. "No one cares about you. No one has even noticed that you're missing. Your parents and your grandfather thought you were just being paranoid. The only man you've ever loved didn't even answer your call. They aren't loyal to you."_

_The demon gestured to one of his cronies who looked like he had possessed a lawyer in a crisp suit and smart haircut. The lawyer demon removed the gag and then stepped out of her line of sight again. She swallowed to get rid of the dryness in her mouth and to try to get rid of the taste of copper. Mr Creepy knelt down in front of her._

"_Why should you be loyal to them?" he asked and the tone of his voice was almost persuasive._

"_Why are you doing this to me?" Karis asked hoarsely._

"_I want to know about the Winchesters," the demon revealed. "John, Dean, even little Sammy. I have to admit, we're pretty curious about your family too. And that old man. What is his name again?" The demon tapped the tip of his knife against his lip thoughtfully. "Ah yes," he purred. "Bobby Singer. All this?" He gestured at her various injuries with the knife again. "This was just proving a point."_

"_What point?" Karis asked. Even her throat was burning now. "That no one can hear me scream? That you can do what you want and no one can stop you?"_

_The demon looked very pleased. "You are a smart one. So…what do you say?"_

_She was silent for a moment, letting her anger outweigh the pain and fear. "Screw you, douchebag."_

_The demon straightened. His smile faded and was replaced by a look of barely controlled rage. He changed his grip on the knife. "So be it." Then he stabbed down and-_

Karis woke with a start and sat bolt upright in her bed, breathing hard. Even though she knew it was a dream, she hurriedly kicked her blankets off and rolled up her pant leg. She had to check, just to make sure. Just above her knee, the scar was still visible. She gently traced it with her finger to make sure it didn't hurt and then collapsed back onto her pillows. It had been three years and she remembered it like it happened yesterday. Of course, the nightmares didn't help. As soon as Karis' breathing returned to normal, she looked towards the window. Golden sunlight was streaming through the breaks in the curtain so it was probably early morning. A quick check of her cellphone confirmed this. She'd almost slept through the night. Almost.

Karis remained in bed, staring at the ceiling. Those demons were either dead or had been sent back to Hell. Regardless, they didn't know where she was or what she was doing. She wanted to believe this but she knew that she couldn't escape the dreams no matter what she told herself. Sam and Dean's voices drifted in just then and while Karis couldn't make out what they were saying, she guessed it was time to get out of bed and to get dressed. She changed back into the jeans from the day before (they were still clean, after all and hunters didn't exactly have access to washing machines all the time) and then changed her blue tank top to a dark red one. She also tied her hair back in the same way as the day before.

As soon as she put her weapons back where they belonged and had put her boots and jacket back on, she knocked on her door to let the boys know she was coming and then opened it. Sam and Dean were dressed in suits which didn't look half bad on them, not that Karis was going to admit this out loud. She took a seat on the edge of the closest bed while they fiddled with their ties in front of the mirror in their room. Sam then turned to face her and immediately frowned.

"Where's yours?" he asked in confusion.

Karis' eyebrows shot up blankly. "My…what?" When Sam just gave a look, she realised what he was asking. "Oh, you mean my monkey suit?" Sam and Dean both gave her unimpressed looks. "I don't play dress up, Sam." She went to retrieve her bag. "When you have the gift of the gab, the suits aren't necessary." She noticed Sam still looked unconvinced so she sighed and tossed him the ID she was going to use.

"Michelle Bennet, FBI consultant?" he read.

She shrugged. "The dress code is far more relaxed and the expectations are lower."

Sam looked like he was pretty impressed with her thinking when he passed her the ID card back. They made their way to the hospital and Karis made sure to walk behind Sam and Dean. She also kept an eye out for anything weird or out of place but it was just like every other hospital she'd ever been to. After her nightmare, she started to think about when she woke up in the hospital after Bobby, her father and her grandfather had rescued her but was interrupted (thankfully) when she nearly walked straight into Dean. They had stopped by the nurse's station and had their badges out.

"I'm Agent Simmons and this is my partner, Agent Fitz," Dean introduced as they both showed their badges. He pointed over his shoulder at her and she pulled her ID out of her pocket. "And our consultant, Miss Bennet."

"We'd like to speak with the young man they brought in from Yellow Stone National Park," Sam explained.

The doctor, an older man probably in his fifties, frowned. "I wasn't aware this was a federal matter."

Dean must not have prepared for this so Karis stepped in. "Given the nature of your patient's wild claims, the Bureau is concerned that there may be drugs involved or that your patient stumbled upon drug manufacturers on federal land."

Sam and Dean both turned to look at her, clearly wondering how she managed to come up with that cover story. The doctor cleared his throat nervously.

"Of course, I'd be happy to show you to his room," the doctor offered.

"I was hoping I could examine the patient's file while the agents interview him," Karis asked hopefully.

The doctor handed her the file and then led Sam and Dean towards the patient's room. She watched them disappear down a corridor and started to page through the contents. The hospital had run a blood panel however it was clean of drugs though there was some alcohol in his system but not enough to explain this. Karis knew that some drugs needed to be specifically tested for but since the usual suspects could be ruled out, she went through the young man's injuries. Even though it was possible he hallucinated the attacking tree, there was no way he could have faked those injuries. His arms and legs each had one single cut along them – a cut that started high up on the limb and wrapped around it until reaching the wrists and ankles, much like a really thick vine would.

The cuts weren't serious enough to need stitches but they did bleed quite a bit. There was also a cut around his neck that was less blood, more bruise but looked like a smaller rope had been wrapped around his neck several times. The soles of his feet had been cut up badly from running through the park barefoot with some other grazes from where he tripped and fell a few times. Beyond that, there was nothing else. No weird marks or anything unique enough that could point them to a specific monster. Karis made sure no one was watching and then used her cellphone to take a few pictures of the file. Just as she took the last one, Sam and Dean reappeared with the doctor. They said their thanks and goodbyes and left, with Karis trailing behind them.

They headed to a nearby diner and ordered breakfast since it was still early in the day. Karis sat on one side of the table with Sam and Dean sitting opposite her. Once they got their coffee and the waitress disappeared to serve another table, Karis looked up at them. "Did he give you anything?"

"Not anything helpful," Sam answered. "Between all the 'dudes' and 'bruhs' he didn't really say much."

"Dude must have been on something strong," Dean agreed.

"The blood panel was clean," Karis said. "But they don't test for everything. What did he say about being attacked?"

"Pretty much what was in the newspaper article," Sam replied. "Nothing new."

"The way he explained the campsite getting ripped apart sounds like it could have been a Wendigo," Dean suggested but he didn't sound entirely convinced.

Karis reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone, opening the photos she'd taken. She slid the phone across the table towards them. "I don't know. Those wounds rule out a lot of possibilities. Besides, I've never heard of a Wendigo letting someone escape, especially not a drunk, disoriented camper."

"And they generally use their claws to attack," Sam pointed out and gave her the cellphone back.

"Could be a trickster," Karis proposed. It was strange thinking out loud like this since she'd been hunting on her own for so long.

The waitress delivered their orders at that moment. Since they were all starving, they agreed to focus on eating and worry about the creature later when they went to investigate the remains of the campsite. They made a brief stop at the motel so Sam and Dean could change out of their suits. They also made sure to pack the basic weapons into Dean's small duffle bag so they would be prepared for most things: flask of holy water, three sawed off shotguns (Karis put her own in so they wouldn't be short a weapon), rock salt rounds, a canister of salt and lighter fluid, a knife Sam and Dean claimed could kill demons and they each had their own 9mm handguns with iron rounds on their person but out of sight. Dean also added his father's journal so Karis did the same with hers. Karis also put in three flashlights, just to be safe.

When they reached the park, they split up again. Sam and Dean went to find out some information about the missing park rangers, other reports of anything weird, what the locals suspected of killing the campers and the like. Karis walked over to another park ranger to try and get the location of the campsite. Since it was marked a dangerous area and tourists were ordered to avoid the area, it meant the park rangers would steer people away from it and she couldn't ask for the location outright so she had to be subtle. She pretended to be a completely clueless camper with zero experience camping in the wilderness and useless when it came to directions. The odd bit of flirting didn't hurt either.

After what seemed like an eternity, Karis managed to get a location out of the poor ranger and headed back to the Impala where Sam and Dean were waiting with equally amused expressions. She guessed they had seen and maybe heard a little bit of what she doing but she paid them no attention. Instead, she took the map of the park that Dean had gotten and spread it out over the Impala's trunk. Once it was flat, she started going over the directions mentally, plotting it with a pen and because the ranger had told her a lot, she really needed to concentrate. Then she drew a small circle where the campsite was based on the ranger's information and took a step back so the brothers could see it.

"It doesn't look too far," Sam said.

"Let's get going then," Dean ordered and picked up the duffle.

Karis followed Sam and Dean into the trees. They hiked in silence, mostly so they could listen for any weird sounds or a warning of an attack. Karis was also not very good at small talk and even then, she couldn't think of anything to say to Dean since Sam was concentrating on the map. Talking about the case with Dean was easy since it didn't involve talking about their relationship or how it ended or what had happened over the past few years. The case was simple and focused on the present. Nothing more. Besides, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to have a conversation with him and he was fully capable of starting one himself, if he wanted to.

It was late afternoon when they reached the campsite. If not for the earlier conversation, Karis would have thought a Wendigo really was responsible for this. The tents were shredded and the supplies were scattered in every direction. Anything breakable was smashed to bits. There was also blood throughout the campsite: on the tents, spattered across the nearby bushes, small pools on the floor. There were marks in the ground where the campers' dead bodies had been found and a trail that was left by the patient in the hospital. Karis knew they could immediately rule out a Wendigo without a doubt since there weren't any false trails scratched in the tree trunks and there were definitely nature sounds so the birds and insects hadn't been scared off.

Even though they ruled out one thing, there was still a list of possibilities. Dean was investigating one of the small blood pools and Sam went to check out the shredded tents to see if whatever shredded them left a clue behind. Karis decided to look a little further beyond the campsite. Perhaps she should have told the brothers where she was going but after hunting solo for so long, it didn't even occur to her. She didn't walk very far when she stumbled upon what looked like drag marks. This was odd since all the campers' bodies had been found at the site. She knelt down to get a better look at them and noticed something was off about them.

The dram marks were weird sizes and looked like the soil had been churned up, almost as if something had been moving below the soil but close enough to the surface to make it move. That didn't seem right. She followed the marks a little bit further to see if there was any evidence of what made them and then froze in her tracks. A light breeze had started blowing but she could hear a whisper, as if the breeze was carrying it. It was too soft to identify the language yet somehow, Karis understood it.

_Murderers. Defilers. Desecrators. VERMIN!_

Karis become aware of something moving behind her and slowly glanced over her shoulder. She had about a second to react as a vine shot towards her like a whip. Instinctively, she dove to the side and popped up in a roll. This had definitely been a bad idea. Once she found her footing again, she started to run in the direction of the campsite, not out of panic but because she seriously doubted her gun would do any damage and that was assuming she could stop long enough to aim and fire without getting killed. When she glanced backwards again, there was a thick branch coming towards her head. She ducked, stumbled for a moment and then kept going. It took her a moment to realise that branch had been attached to a tree. A tree that was very big. More importantly, the tree was chasing her.

As Karis neared the campsite, she could hear Sam and Dean calling her name but she had bigger concerns right now, like a tree she had no idea how to stop. As she rounded a shrub to get into the campsite, she collided with something with a lot of force. Her first thought was the tree could teleport. In hindsight, not a very realistic concern. When she finally came to a stop, she was lying on the floor on her back with a very confused Dean on top of her. Apparently, he was what she collided with and knocked over. It was hard to tell who was more surprised between them.

Movement past Dean's shoulder caught her attention and before he could even start to figure out a question, Karis pushed him off her with some force and then rolled in the opposite direction, just as another vine hit the ground where they had been moments before in a whip like fashion. She looked in Dean's direction to make sure he was still alive and then looked over at the tree that was slowly approaching them. Sam suddenly appeared between Karis and Dean and the tree, waving a piece of wood he'd lit on fire. The tree retreated and then disappeared from view. Karis sat up and huffed in annoyance.

"I really hate camping," she murmured irritably.

Sam smiled and walked over to help her up. "Are you all right?"

She started to dust herself off. "I have no idea how to react to a killer tree."

Dean had also gotten to his feet. "How did you know the fire would work?"

"It was something the kid in the hospital said about the tree backing off when he ran past the campfire," Sam recalled. "And it does kind of make sense."

Karis and Dean exchanged a look, more out of habit than anything. They had more experience hunting than Sam since he was more interested in having a normal life and had spent four years studying at Stanford and yet, something as obvious as scaring a tree away with fire had escaped them.

"Good to know it works at least," Dean commented.

"And now we get to figure out how to stop a walking, homicidal tree," Karis added in a sarcastic tone. "Gotta love hunting. The fun never stops."

They returned to the motel, after stopping to get takeaways from a local fast food joint for supper, to begin the research portion of the hunt. Dean had somehow managed to get to the shower first so Karis was standing in front of the mirror in their portion of the room, picking out dead leaves and sticks from her hair. Her hair was loose to try to make the job easier but it didn't look promising. Despite the fact that she had been lying on the floor for a brief time, she had somehow walked away with half the forest in her hair. Sam was sitting at the small table with his laptop on and his father's journal sitting beside him. Karis' journal was sitting beside the leftovers of her double cheeseburger opposite Sam.

Sam leant back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. "Trickster could still be possible."

"Maybe," Karis agreed as she found a stick really tangled up in her hair and grimaced. The stick couldn't have been bigger than her little finger yet somehow it had created a huge and probably painful problem. "Tricksters don't typically use the same prank more than once but I suppose…"

"It could be a pro-environment trickster," Dean suggested in his usual smartass tone as he opened the bathroom door.

Karis was about to think up some witty retort when she completely lost her train of thought. Still facing the mirror, she had a clear line of sight to the bathroom door and Dean was standing there, in nothing but a towel. Karis even forgot about the fighty stick in her hair that was proving to be troublesome as she stared. Dean hadn't been that well-built when they were together and the anti-demon possession tattoo was new. She was so distracted that she was only half listening to the conversation and her hands were still holding the stick yet she made no move to try to remove it.

"Well, tricksters do like getting poetic justice but those campers and even the park rangers don't fit the usual victim type," Sam pointed out. "A bunch of stoner dudes and people trained to protect the park?"

"How about a haunted tree then?" Dean had decided to go the ridiculous route since probable explanations were scarce.

"Come on, Dean," Sam argued even though he was amused. "What spirit would haunt a tree?"

Those words snapped Karis out of her distraction and probably not a moment too soon. If she continued staring, Dean probably would have noticed and drawn attention to her. The last thing he needed was an ego boost. As she considered Sam's words, her gaze shifted to the wall but she wasn't seeing it.

"Tree spirit," Karis murmured to herself quietly as she suddenly recalled a memory…no, a story. She absently started to untangle the stick as she recounted what happened in the park with what she could remember. Once the stick was out, she headed over to the table, repeating the words 'tree spirit' under her breath.

"You know that was a joke, right?" Dean asked.

Karis didn't look up from her journal. "Perhaps, but you might be onto something there."

"I am?" Dean asked, taken completely by surprise that she wasn't outright dismissing his idea.

She was paging through the journal quickly. "Before the tree attacked, I think it spoke to me."

"The tree spoke to you?" Dean asked incredulously. "Did you hit your head when we weren't looking?"

"I don't know," she replied and threw the stick that she was still holding in his vague direction without really aiming. "You did land on me pretty hard."

"After you ran into me," Dean reminded and easily sidestepped the stick.

"You do know you sound like an old married couple?" Sam observed smugly.

Karis and Dean both looked at him. "We do not," they said in unison, causing Sam to laugh softly and Dean to give Karis a surprised look, considering they were finding it pretty easy to fall back into old routines despite the fact that years had passed, Karis was angry with him and he seemed more interested in keeping her at arm's length.

Karis had since returned to the journal, not noticing either of their reactions. "The point being, it was in Ancient Greek but I didn't realise it at the time."

"Wait," Sam interrupted. "You know Ancient Greek?"

Without looking up, she answered. "Latin too but I imagine you do too. Here we are," Karis said and stopped flipping through the pages. "A Dryad."

"A what now?" Dean asked in confusion.

Karis looked up and was surprised to find that in the short time she'd been going through the journal, Dean had gotten dressed. She refused to admit she was disappointed and instead focused on his question, pretending that she hadn't even noticed anything had changed since she last looked up.

"A Dryad, or tree nymph," Karis answered. "They're ancient Greek nature spirits. Meliai, Epimeliad and Hamadryad are confirmed types of Dryads."

Sam frowned. "What's the difference?"

"The type of tree they're bound to but that's about it. Dryads were fiercely protective of their homes, basically forests, and would do anything to keep them from being destroyed."

Dean sat on the edge of one of the beds. "You don't exactly sound convinced."

"The criteria fit: attacking people for threatening the forests, the kid's injuries were definitely made by those vines, nature was thriving in the area, scared of fire."

"But?" Sam prompted.

"I've never heard of one this far west before," Karis admitted. "They're usually in Greece or Italy, around the Mediterranean. And the lore specifically describes them as female spirits separate from a tree."

"The lore isn't always accurate," Sam reasoned. "Especially when dealing with mythology. People have their own versions of it."

Being brought up with Greek mythology, Karis knew that better than most. "True but my grandfather is the one who wrote it in the journal after having to kill one in Athens." She sighed. "Guess I'm calling my grandfather."

"I thought you two were close," Dean said.

"We are," Karis replied as she took out her phone and started dialling the number. "He just isn't as funny as he thinks he is."

When the dial tone started, Karis put her phone on speaker so she wouldn't have to repeat everything he said. After a few rings, her grandfather picked up.

"_Who is this?"_ he demanded impatiently. His accent was a weird mix of American and Greek.

Karis was trying very hard to not walk into his favourite trap. "Your granddaughter."

"_Which one?"_ he asked.

She sighed in defeat, knowing the quickest way to get what they needed was to humour him. "Karis."

"_Eh? What about carrots?"_ There was a pause before he cackled like a maniac.

Karis noticed Sam and Dean were trying their hardest not to laugh and she had to wait patiently for her grandfather to stop laughing.

"_What was it you needed?"_ he asked when he finally calmed down.

"We think-" Karis tried but she was cut off.

"_We? Who's we? You better not be hunting with that Winchester boy again or I'll…"_ He then descended into a very angry Greek tirade that Karis really did not need or want to hear about what he planned to do to Dean if they ever crossed paths again.

"Gramps," she whined when Dean gave her a look that said 'what did you tell him about me'.

Her grandfather audibly sighed in frustration. "Fine, what do you need?"

"Dryads," she answered quickly, hoping to prevent another tirade. "I think there's one here but I'm not entirely sure."

With Sam's help (since her grandfather pretended not to hear anything when Dean spoke), Karis recounted the events of the day, making sure to include everything relevant, including the dead campers and the missing park rangers. Once they were finished, he was quiet for a few moments and then it sounded like he was paging through a book.

"_Dryads and their kin, being nature spirits and all, can appear anywhere that nature has a strong presence, not necessarily in one specific country,"_ her grandfather related. _"However, since the Ancient Religions faded, so did the nymphs' connection to the mortal world. They went into a sort of hibernation, bonding with their host…whatever you would call it. In this case, your dryad bonded with the tree."_

Karis frowned. "But the one you found in Athens was a proper spirit, not a plant on a rampage."

"_It depends on how long they've been in hibernation. Yours must be much older therefore more powerful and much angrier,"_ he continued to explain patiently. _"She was probably woken up by your campers getting firewood or something so simple like that. The dryad's spirit fused with the tree so she's pretty much the tree. Unfortunately, the long hibernation drives them crazy."_

Karis shared an unhappy look with Sam. "So, we have to kill her?"

"_Since she attacked you without provocation, it's not a good sign,"_ her grandfather answered. _"Now that she's woken up, she won't go into hibernation again which means she'll continue to kill. It's not ideal, kid, but killing her will mean she's finally at peace."_

"How do we do it?" Sam asked quietly.

"_With fire,"_ her grandfather answered simply.

"Are you suggesting we burn down a tree in a national park?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"_I'm sure you'll figure something out,"_ he replied curtly and suddenly hung up.

Karis put her phone away. "What is it with old guys and hanging up on me lately?" she asked no one in particular.

"Does he still hunt?" Sam asked subtly.

Karis smiled. "Giving him a shotgun is dangerous to everyone but the monster. He's mostly retired, sort of like Bobby and offers advice to other hunters and finds cases for my father and I. He also looks in on my mom from time to time."

Sam was suddenly a lot more interested in her family. "Does your mother hunt?"

"No but she knows about it," Karis answered as she walked towards her room. "She knows enough to protect herself and not to ask questions when Dad and I turn up with weird injuries. Beyond that, she lives a normal life and prefers to keep it that way." She retrieved her clothing bag and returned. "And since his highness is finally finished, I'll be in the shower. I'll leave planning a felony up to you two."

"Gee, thanks," Dean replied dryly as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

The warm water eased Karis' tense muscles and she ran her fingers through her hair. She was pleased to discover that her time spent in front of the mirror had not been a waste as her hair was foliage free. While she enjoyed the warmth, she started to think about the case. Killing a Dryad didn't sit well with her. The Dryad was just trying to protect its home from the pollution and interference of humans. Then again, perhaps her grandfather was right. Killing the Dryad might just let the spirit find peace again and if the brief encounter in the forest had proved anything, it was that negotiations were not an option.

Then her thoughts turned to the missing park rangers. It just didn't make sense. The Dryad killed those campers and left them where they could be found but there was no trace of the rangers anywhere. It could have been a coincidence but in hunting, those were rare. With a reluctant sigh, she turned off the water in the shower and got dressed. She used the towel to dry her hair until it was only a bit damp and brushed it. Most of this was done on autopilot since she was still trying to make sense of the Dryad's behaviour. When she exited the bathroom, Sam and Dean were still discussing a plan so she left her bag by the door and returned to her earlier seat.

Sam had the map spread out on the table. Karis' circle was still there but Sam had added a cross a short distance away. "This is where they found the missing park rangers' truck."

"So, you're saying this dryad could be anywhere in this area?" Dean asked and outlined a large circle with the two points within it.

Sam sighed. "Pretty much."

Karis leaned forward to get a better look. It was a large area that they needed to search and there was no guarantee the tree would be in the same area as that afternoon since it obviously liked to move around. Tracking it would also prove to be difficult. Although it left a unique trail, it moved so quickly that it would be hard to tell a new one from an old one. Then she noticed something else on the map, midway between the abandoned vehicle and the campsite.

"What's that?" she asked since she couldn't make out the tiny font and pointed to it.

Sam investigated. "A small cave."

"There's been no trace of the rangers. Maybe they're holed up in there?" she suggested.

"It's worth a look," Sam agreed. "I mean, it's not like we have much of an idea as to where the dryad could be."

"We'll leave first thing in the morning then," Dean decided.

Karis looked between them. "You have a plan for dealing with the dryad then?"

"Not really," Dean answered and walked over to his bed.

Karis looked over to Sam to see if he was kidding but Sam only shrugged helplessly. "That doesn't bother you?"

"Do I look bothered?" Dean asked rhetorically.

Karis made a frustrated noise. She forgot he could act like an ass sometimes. Before she said something she would regret, she bid good night to Sam and took her journal and bag with her into her room. Even if she didn't really want to be around Dean, she wasn't going to create unnecessary problems, even though it took a lot of effort to resist annoying Dean. Since her hair was still damp, Karis sat on her bed with her legs crossed beneath her and started going through her journal, looking for information about demons. There wasn't much of a point to speculating about the dryad now so she might as well do something useful before going to sleep.


	3. Burn, Baby, Burn

**Chapter 3: Burn, Baby, Burn**

_Azazel picks his targets, seemingly at random. It is unclear how he gets access to the child or even how he knows when the exact date of their six month birthday. From the research and examining the patterns, the fire in the child's home – typically resulting in the death of one or both parents – only happens when Azazel is interrupted. Other children showing signs of his influence have turned up however their parents are alive. It is with reasonable confidence that I conclude Azazel has the ability to summon and control fire, something that is unheard of in other demons._

_The children are also of interest. Azazel gives his blood – demon blood – to the child. The child does not seem to be ill affected for most of their life until they reach a certain stage of maturity in life. It is my belief that the children develop their manifestations at roughly the same time. Reported incidents have revealed the following possibilities: controlling the actions of someone with a command; visions of the future; superhuman strength; telekinesis; stopping a person's heart simply with a touch and, finally, electrokinesis. Others may exist or evolve however it remains unclear at this time. It would also appear that they have a drive to seek each other, whether led by premonitions or some sixth sense, nevertheless their purpose remains unknown._

_Elanna put me in touch with her Council of Elders. They were very interested to hear what I had to say but they could not offer any explanations. What they did exclude does warrant a mention. The Council was adamant that no magic – black or otherwise – had been used therefore it is difficult to determine just how much of an affect demon blood will have on mortal humans. They were also convinced that these visions of the future did not make the subject a true psychic. The visions have a connection to Azazel and his Children and nothing more. Azazel also took great steps to make sure the true purpose of his Children remained unknown as his intentions are hidden from the Council. Even Elanna could offer no insight._

_Following in my great-great-great grandfather's footsteps, tracking Azazel has become a top priority. John Winchester, an old friend and former student, admitted that he lost his wife to this specific demon years ago and not a faceless demon as he had originally told me when Missouri first put us in touch which leads me to believe his youngest son, Sam, may be one of the Children. I cannot bring myself to harm the child as generations before me have done however if we manage to find Azazel, I pray to Olympus that killing him will spare Sam the same suffering the other Children suffered. John has already identified various omens with which we can track Azazel. If the gods will it, we can put a stop to this nightmare before it destroys even more families._

Karis rubbed her eyes tiredly and sighed. She'd found her father's notes about Azazel just after midnight and had read over it many times, trying to connect the dots and understand what Sam went through. It was intriguing to see that her father had consulted with Elanna – she must have been a teenager at the time if the way her father wrote about John Winchester was any indication – and wondered if she should do the same. Then again, Elanna really didn't like strangers and made it difficult for anyone to find her. Karis decided that if they couldn't figure out how to help Sam, then finding Elanna would become Plan B.

Despite the fact that she had been awake all night, she didn't feel tired. That would come much later in the day, she guessed. And speaking of the day…Karis was about to commit a felony. Committing some crimes were fun, such as the time she stole her ex-boyfriend's (pre Dean) car back when she was a teenager. The look on his face was worth the lecture she'd gotten from both her parents. This one, however, was going to prove difficult. Burning a tree down in the middle of a national park without it spreading had a low chance of success. Now factor in a tree that wanted to kill them while they did it… The odds did not look good.

Karis got changed and retrieved her bag of hunting goodies, trying to see if she had anything that would make this any easier, especially since Dean had opted for the 'let's see what happens and hope for the best' approach. It was hard to tell if he just couldn't come up with a plan or if he was doing it for the sole purpose of annoying her. Things between them were definitely weird. Sometimes, it was like they never went their separate ways while at other times, they seemed like they were purposefully keeping each other at arm's length. Karis knew why she was doing it: she was angry and hurt and confused. Why was Dean doing it? She had no idea.

She pulled out a container of lighter fluid and the lighter which she usually used for burning bones and set them on the bed. The lighter fluid could help control where the flames went but there was still a chance that the fire would quickly get out of control. They needed some way to keep that from happening. A fire extinguisher, maybe. Unfortunately, stealing one from the motel would be too obvious and considering the motel wasn't exactly well kept, the extinguisher probably wouldn't even work. Well, the park rangers would have something like that in case of emergencies.

Stealing from park rangers was probably another felony but if they managed to save those that were missing, she would risk it. Now that she had some sort of vague plan in mind, she felt a little bit more confident about the day's activities. She headed through the door to see what the boys were up to, only to walk in on Sam and Dean arguing about how they were going to handle this. Sam wanted to figure something out whereas Dean was still holding onto his approach. Karis remained in the doorway, apparently unnoticed, and then she saw Sam had thought along the same lines as he had put their own lighter fluid on the table and Dean always carried that lighter with him. Karis cleared her throat which brought the argument to an abrupt end.

"I'm guessing you heard that?" Sam asked.

"It was hard not to," she answered. "But it seems you and I had the same idea."

Sam shot Dean a 'told you so' look. "Dean doesn't think it'll work."

"We just need some way to control the fire and make sure it doesn't spread," Karis replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, is that all?" Dean asked sarcastically.

Karis didn't turn to look at him. "And maybe we can find somewhere to leave him while we're out there," she suggested.

Sam smiled for a second before focusing on the task at hand. "What were you thinking?"

"Tying him to a tree," Karis answered and ignored the indignant sound that Dean made.

"I meant about the fire," Sam corrected her but he was definitely amused.

"Oh," Karis realised. "Well, park rangers have to be equipped to deal with smaller fires or campfires gone wrong. Maybe they have a fire extinguisher or something."

Sam considered it. "That actually isn't a bad idea."

Karis raised an eyebrow. "Your confidence overwhelms me."

Sam shrugged apologetically but they decided it was time to get going. When they returned to the park, Karis was volunteered to distract the rangers while Sam and Dean inspected their vehicles for anything they could use. Once they found some small handheld fire extinguishers, Dean hurriedly put them in the duffle while Sam came to Karis' rescue since she and Dean were still quite annoyed with one another. They double checked that they had everything and then set off into the forest yet again. They walked in silence and made a point to avoid any popular campsites or other touristy crap. The last thing they wanted was for someone to be able to place them there.

When they finally found the spot where the park rangers' abandoned vehicle was found, any possibility that it was just a coincidence was eliminated. The edge of the road that been torn up pretty good, just like the campsite, and there were still pieces of car lying on the floor. Glass from the cracked windshield littered the soil, a side mirror had managed to travel quite a distance and land in a bush nearby and the rear fender was hanging on a branch of a nearby tree. Karis went to investigate the ground in the direction of the cave and after what happened last time, Sam and Dean were following her closely.

"Can you make out anything?" Dean asked.

"Maybe," Karis answered distractedly. "It's hard to tell since the other rangers searched the area but it looks like there are two sets of tracks heading in the cave's direction. They're a few days old, at least."

"You know how to track?" Sam asked in surprise.

Karis walked a few steps ahead to see if she could find more distinct footprints. "Yeah. Bobby taught me one weekend we went camping."

"I thought you hate camping?" Sam asked and she could hear the frown in his voice.

"Things went great right up to the point when we were attacked by a werewolf," Karis answered. "The time after that, we found a Wendigo. After that, it was a Banshee. We gave up after that one."

"And now a homicidal plant," Sam added to the list. "No wonder you hate it."

Karis smiled and then something caught her eye. "Here," she pointed. "I'm pretty sure these belong to the rangers."

"How did the others miss it?" Dean wondered out loud.

"I think we're a bit out of the usual search radius and the tree tore up the ground pretty good back there," Karis answered.

"What makes you so sure?" Sam asked and came to stand just behind her.

"See how the left foot of one track is right against the right foot of the other track? And one footprint isn't as deep as the others?" she asked and pointed to them as she explained. "One ranger was injured and the other one was helping him get away. The dryad was probably more focused on destroying the car, giving them an opening to escape."

"And that cave on the map would have been the first safe place they came across," Sam realised.

"This is a great theory and all but if they're still alive, why haven't they come back to the station?" Dean asked.

"I don't know," Sam admitted.

Karis chose not to answer. It was naïve to hope for the best and to just assume everyone was alive. The three of them had been hunting long enough to know they couldn't save everyone and there would be times when they arrived too late. It was one of the worst parts about hunting: knowing that if you made a mistake, people would die. Clinging to the hope that people were alive until proved otherwise kept Karis going. She knew better than most that the world wasn't made up of rainbows and candy canes but that didn't mean she couldn't hope it was.

They continued in the direction of the cave. Sam and Dean kept an eye out for the dryad while Karis continued to make sure the trail didn't divert away from the cave. A thought had occurred to her which she didn't voice to Sam and Dean: if the dryad was lying in wait and luring them into a trap, how would they tell it apart from all the trees they had already passed? It was not reassuring and Karis had to make a conscious effort not to look over her shoulder every few steps. After a lot of walking, they finally reached the cave. The entrance to it was small. According to height, it came to about Sam's shoulder, meaning Karis and Dean could walk through without a problem. In width, there was just enough space for one person to walk through. Unfortunately, the entrance had collapsed and the rangers' trail led straight into it.

Karis approached the cave in. "Can anyone hear me?" she called out.

They listened intently when they heard someone cough weakly. "Hello?"

Karis immediately stepped to the side and the boys rushed forward so they could start removing the rocks.

"Back away from the entrance," she warned and could only hope they heard her.

Karis refused to stand by idly and even though there wasn't enough space by Sam and Dean to clear the cave entrance, she did make sure they had room to move by moving the pieces of debris out of the way. They had started to make some progress when they felt the breeze stirring again. Karis looked over her shoulder and noticed something move. It was too far to make out so she tapped Sam and Dean on their shoulders without moving her gaze. They paused in their task and looked in the same direction.

"What do we do now?" Sam asked in a whisper.

Karis glanced at the cave in and noticed there was a gap just big enough for her to crawl through. "I'll see to the rangers."

"You sure?" Dean asked seriously.

When she nodded, he wasted no time in taking what he and Sam needed from the duffle and then handing the rest to her. They hurried off in the direction they had seen movement and when she could no longer see them amongst the trees, she turned to face the cave. It was times like these she was grateful she wasn't claustrophobic. It was also good motivation for maintaining a healthy diet…well, healthy by hunters' standards. Karis opened the duffle and took out a flashlight then she slowly approached the gap. She leant forward carefully and, shining the flashlight through the gap, she peered in. A dusty face soon appeared.

"I'm coming," she promised and sent the duffle bag through.

Then, zipping up her leather jacket so nothing would catch, she put the flashlight in her mouth and went through the gap. It was a tight fit and she imagined it didn't look very elegant so she was relieved Dean wasn't around to watch. When she finally managed to get through, she took the flashlight with her hand and looked around quickly. The one park ranger looked like he couldn't believe his eyes while the other one was slumped against the wall, unconscious. Karis knelt down by the duffle and dug around until she found two things: a bottle of water, which she gave to the conscious man, and a basic first aid kit. The man accepted the bottle gratefully and took a few large gulps.

"Who are you?" he managed. "How did you find us?"

"That's not really important right now," she answered. "What happened to him?"

They approached the unconscious man and Karis immediately noticed a long, deep cut along his thigh. She ripped his pants open around the injury and grabbed the bottle from the other man. She then poured some water over the injury to clean it a bit and then passed it back. The unconscious man stirred with the sudden pain and cold water but did not open his eyes.

"We were attacked," the ranger recalled shakily. "The…thing started on the car. In the chaos, the car door flew off and hit just above his head. He wasn't quick enough when it came down and it landed on his leg. I tried to get us out of there but…it followed us. It brought down the cave."

Karis started wrapping a bandage around the injury, hoping she wasn't too late. "It? You mean the tree?"

The ranger's eyes widened in shock. "You know about it?"

"We've been introduced," she explained lightly in an attempt to keep his spirit up. "My friends are out there right now, trying to kill it."

He gaped at her wordlessly. "H-how?" he stammered.

Karis was about to tell him and then decided against it. "It's probably better if you don't know the details. Plausible deniability and all."

The ranger frowned and she took the bottle from him again. This time, she poured a bit of water in her cupped hand and then threw it in the unconscious man's face. At that, he jumped and his eyes flew open. He looked around in panicky surprise but Karis calmed him down pretty quickly and gave him the bottle of water. He finished it in a few gulps.

"Hold this," she instructed and gave him the flashlight. Then she moved his arm so the cave in was illuminated. "We have a lot of work to do."

* * *

Dean knew he shouldn't be worried but he couldn't help it. Karis was not one to fuss over for two reasons: she could handle herself and she _really_ hated it. It had also been his decision to end things between them (for lack of a better description) and he had also decided to push her away, not that she was making this hard. Logically, he knew Karis would be fine and that he, for various reasons, should not worry. And yet, she had volunteered to rescue two rangers who were in who knew what condition in a cave that could collapse at any second. Dean tried to push the thought away on focus on the task at hand: setting fire to the tree. The moving and aggressive tree. That would try to kill them any moment now.

With Sam right behind him, Dean walked into a small clearing. The ground had been torn up, just like where the rangers had been attacked, but there was no sign of where the tree had gone. He and Sam had worked out a vague plan: try to get as much lighter fluid on the tree as possible without dying and then light it up. It was simple, to the point and easy to remember. The difficulty came in getting it done. They stood back to back to make sure the tree didn't manage to sneak up on him (which was a precaution Dean never imagined he would need to take, ever) and they tried to see where it had gone.

"Dean," Sam suddenly murmured.

He looked over Sammy's shoulder and immediately saw the tree coming towards them. It moved faster than they realised so they had to dive in opposite directions to avoid getting hurt. Maybe Karis should have come as a distraction. She was fast and quick on her feet. Dean quickly checked on Sam and they both got to their feet at the same time. They continued to dodge the tree's vines and branches as best as they could but that meant they didn't have a chance to try dousing it in lighter fluid. There had been a few close calls so Dean decided he would be the distraction and hope Sammy could manage.

He started by getting some distance between himself and the tree, forcing it to chase after him and leave Sammy alone. It worked a little too well. Evading the tree's attacks had been hard enough when its attention was split between the two of them but now that it was focused on Dean, the calls started to get a lot closer. Sam managed to get some lighter fluid along the trunk and higher up where the branches grew out of it but the tree did not appreciate them trying to use their lighters. At any point when they managed to get a flame – it didn't matter who anymore – the tree attacked and the flame went out.

Dean could feel he was getting tired and Sam looked it. If they didn't light it up soon, they would get themselves killed. Just as that thought crossed his mind, there was a gunshot. Definitely not a sound he expected in a fight against a tree with lighters. The tree turned, its full attention fixed on…Karis? Dean had to let that thought compute for a few moments. She was a little bit dusty and aside from a cut on her right palm, she looked fine. She was holding her 9mm handgun and was pointing it at the tree. What on earth was she thinking? The bullet obviously did no damage and only made it angrier.

A vine whipped out in her direction and she leant back just far enough to avoid it. It hit a nearby branch that splintered with the force. She jumped back before the branch could hit her. Karis made no move to get closer to the tree but rather seemed to be getting it towards the centre of the clearing as she ran and dodged its attacks. He exchanged a very confused glance with Sam…until a breathless and very dusty ranger joined them. Before Dean could ask what was happening, he realised the ranger was holding a flare gun. His hands were shaking too much to aim and Karis was running out of space. Sam took the flare gun and quickly lined up the shot.

"Karis!" Dean shouted in warning.

At first, he wasn't sure she had heard him but then, just as Sammy pulled the trigger, Karis disappeared into the trees, using them as protection. The flare hit the tree and exploded brightly, igniting the lighter fluid almost immediately. The tree started to panic and the branches and vines flailed wildly. Sam and Dean grabbed the ranger and put some distance between them to avoid getting hurt. The flailing started to slow and when there was barely any movement, Dean went in to extinguish the flames. Sam was on the opposite side and slowly, the flames disappeared and the tree remained still.

Karis emerged from the trees and stood beside the burnt remains. She stared at it sadly for a moment before murmuring something in Ancient Greek. Then she approached them as though nothing had happened and looked over at the ranger.

"You all right?" she asked him.

He was shaking like a leaf. "I…I think so," he managed.

"Where'd you get the flare gun?" Sam asked.

The ranger was leaning forward with his head between his legs so he didn't pass out so Karis answered. "When their car was attacked, his partner grabbed it and they ran. The idea was to fire it off once they were safe but after the cave collapsed, there was no way to fire it."

"And his partner?" Dean asked, dreading the answer.

Karis pointed over her shoulder. "Alive and out of the cave. Enjoying the fresh air. He has your duffle bag."

The ranger suddenly straightened and looked a little bit more composed. "How are we going to explain this?"

"One really pissed off bear?" Karis suggested and then looked at them for any better suggestions.

The park ranger considered it.

"That could work," Sam agreed thoughtfully. "The cave was unstable and only needed a little nudge from this bear. You managed to dig yourself and your partner out. The flare gun misfired, lit a tree on fire and we saw the smoke?"

Dean nodded his head slowly. "And we walk away looking awesome. It could work."

Karis led the way back towards the injured ranger. He was also covered in dust but the bandage around his leg looked cleaned so Dean guessed Karis was responsible for that. They put everything back in the duffle and relayed the cover to him. Once he agreed with it, Sam and Dean helped him to his feet and put his arms around their shoulders. Karis picked up the duffle bag and hooked the strap over her shoulder. Then she helped the other ranger. This was how they started on their way back to the ranger station. They decided to stick to the road since it would be easier to walk along and maybe someone had heard the gunshot which had scared off the non-existent bear.

They had been walking for about an hour when another park services car approached them. As soon as they relayed the cover story, these new park rangers were more than happy to give them a lift the rest of the way. When they arrived, it was already dark and there was an ambulance waiting. Everyone was so happy to have the missing park rangers returned that the cover story was accepted without question. A paramedic had noticed Karis' hand and had insisted on treating her so Sam and Dean went to wait by the Impala, trying to attract as little attention as possible. The duffle had also been rapidly stashed in the trunk so no one would look too closely at them.

"I'm glad they're alive and we managed to find them," Sam commented as he watched the chaos through the flashing red and blue lights.

Dean's attention was focused on the back of an ambulance where Karis was sitting beside the paramedic. "This whole tree business was a new one."

"Right?" Sam agreed with an amused snort. "I wonder what Dad would think about us going up against a tree?"

"No idea but I bet it isn't in his journal," Dean replied and finally tore his gaze away from Karis. Instead, he looked to Sam. "And how are you feeling?"

Sam considered the question before answering honestly. "Fine."

"No headaches or dizziness?" Dean asked.

Sam tried to look impatient but he also knew that he was just looking out for him. "That's what fine means, Dean."

"Just checking," Dean said.

"Like you were just checking on Karis a few moments ago?" Sam asked. Dean looked away and refused to comment so Sam sighed in slight frustration. "What is it with you two?"

That got Dean's attention. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You both look away when you look at each other," Sam recounted. "You both pretend you're not interested in each other. You also act like you don't care about each other even though you work well together on a case. And it sounded like her grandfather really wanted to kill you. Oh and since you and I have been hunting together, you haven't mentioned her once even after dating for the entire time I was at Stanford. What exactly happened?"

Dean was about to answer when Karis approached and she was already picking at the bandage around her hand like she wanted nothing more than to rip it off. "How's the hand?" he asked.

She let her hand drop to her side so she wouldn't fidget with the bandage anymore. "Not bad. I didn't need stitches so that's always a win."

"How did that happen anyway?" Sam asked and Dean tried to hide his relief that this brother didn't try to bring up the subject again.

"We were clearing the cave in to get out and one of the rocks slipped," she explained. "It was a sharp little bugger." She glanced over her shoulder. "Can we leave now, please? I'm starving."

Sam and Dean both smiled at that.

"That sounds like a good plan," Dean commented and they all got into the Impala so they could look for some place to grab dinner.

* * *

They managed to find a bar in the area that was still open and served food. After a successful case where they had saved two lives, they agreed they deserved something better to eat than run of the mill fast food. They had already eaten their food which was hot and tasted good. Dean had gone off to hit on the hot bartender, leaving Sam with Karis. She had made herself comfortable on her seat, stretching out along it with her back leaning against the wall. Sam was also quite relaxed as they sat in companionable silence, sharing a beer. There was still so much about her that he didn't know so he was curious. He also wanted to get to know her since he hadn't met anyone that Dean had dated for so long.

She must have noticed his staring because she looked over at him with an amused expression. "You look like you have something on your mind, Sam."

"I'm just curious, that's all," he admitted.

"About me?" she guessed and then seemed even more amused that anyone could find her interesting. "There isn't much to tell but you're more than welcome to ask."

Sam decided to start with the standard question. "How did you get into hunting?"

Karis drank some beer and held the bottle lightly between her thumb and forefinger as she rested her elbow against the back of the chair. "If you're expecting some dramatic story involving me fighting for my life against some unknown foe, you'll be disappointed."

"Tell me anyway."

"All right," she obliged. "My parents have a complicated relationship. They love each other, had kids but they're not married since my dad would spend so much time away hunting. When I turned ten, he came to visit and told me about hunting – the child friendly version, of course."

Sam regarded her sceptically. "There's a child friendly version of that?"

Karis grinned. "He made it out to be like _Scooby-Doo_ instead of your average horror movie but he also made sure I understood just what I was getting into without scaring me. He told me I could choose to follow him or I could have a normal life like my mom. I chose hunting, naturally."

"Ten seems a bit young," Sam remarked.

"He didn't give me a gun and tell me to shoot something," Karis clarified. "Since I was still in school, he started things slow. Twice a week I had language lessons: Latin, Greek and Ancient Greek. Later, there were others. I spent the weekends at my grandfather's and he taught me the basics, all theory of course. He taught me defence and protection first. There were also camping trips to teach me survival skills and I was also introduced to Bobby who helped out when my dad and grandfather were busy. To say I had no social life would be an understatement."

Sam smiled at that. "So, I guess they gradually increased what they taught you."

"Pretty much," she explained. "They taught me how to shoot and fight when I turned 13. When I was 16, my dad started taking me on hunts but he made school a priority in case I ever decided I wanted to stop hunting. Then when I was 18, he let me go on my first solo hunt. He and Gramps made sure it would be a straightforward job to limit the danger and make sure I didn't get myself killed. Dad, unknown to me at the time, was staying in the same motel in a different room in case I needed help. After that, we hunted together but also solo. We did a few jobs with your dad and Dean. They always said you were off doing something normal."

Sam snorted at that. "Most hunters make that sound like a bad thing but not you."

"Leading a normal life is a lot of hard work," she replied. "I've taken breaks from hunting and went to stay with my mom. A normal life may lack the excitement of hunting but it's not easy. When John said you went off to Stanford to study, my dad was happy for you." When Sam looked at her in surprise, she smiled again. "You have met him, y'know. Demitrius?"

Sam's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "He's your father? All right, things make a bit more sense now."

He remembered spending the odd weekend with Demitrius and his father – Karis' grandfather, he realised now – whenever his father needed information or after a particularly long hunt. Their house had been a safe place to go to and Sam always enjoyed going because there were no expectations. Demitrius never assumed he would become a hunter and so, Sam was allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted while he was there. They also had a huge library and Sam remembered spending hours reading in that room and her grandfather was always happy to strike up a conversation about whatever book he'd just read. The food there had also been amazing.

"But we never met before this?" Sam asked to double check.

"Well, I was leaving to stay at my mom's one time when you were just arriving," Karis remembered. "I was really short and had horrible frizzy hair. I think I walked straight into you because I was trying to read and walk to the car at the same time."

Sam laughed and then tried to cover it up. "That was you?"

Karis grinned in a mixture of amusement and slight embarrassment. "I'm just glad I outgrew the frizzy hair."

They shared a laugh at that and then descended into silence again. Sam was pretty jealous about the way Karis had been introduced to hunting but she had a lot more family to count on than his father did. There was something else he really wanted to know but he also knew it would kill the amusement they just shared.

"What happened between you and Dean?" he asked quietly.

Karis didn't answer immediately and just as Sam thought she wouldn't answer at all, she asked "He hasn't told you?"

Sam shrugged. "He pretends he didn't hear the question or he changes the topic."

"I've known about Dean's reputation for a long time," Karis started and she did look in the direction of the bar to prove a point. "I really had no expectations when we started dating so I was pretty surprised – yet happy – that we had lasted for four years. Dean told me he wasn't used to such a serious relationship and that he needed some time to figure things out. It made sense considering his longest relationship before us was a week, I think. I told him I understood. He promised he would call me as soon as he made a decision."

"Then what?" Sam asked. It all sounded pretty normal up to here.

"Then I didn't see him or hear from him until Bobby called in his favour a few days ago."

"I'm sorry, Karis," Sam said genuinely. "I've always known he can be a jerk sometimes but this… You haven't got an explanation?"

She shrugged. "I haven't asked for one and I don't really want one. I'm here for you, Sam. Not your idiot brother."

Sam smiled at that. It was good to know there were still hunters out there who were willing to help each other when they needed it. He was also pretty certain Karis wasn't being entirely truthful. She wanted an explanation and he didn't blame her but it seemed like she was trying to convince herself that she didn't need one.

"It was his idea to call you in the first place," Sam mentioned.

Karis looked at him in confusion, like the idea of Dean turning to her for help never crossed her mind. "Who?"

"Dean," Sam answered. "When we came up with nothing to explain what was happening, Dean suggested asking for your help. He said if anyone could figure it out, it would be you."

Karis didn't know how to respond to that. Sam could tell she knew Dean well enough that there was a very short list of people he trusted enough to ask for help and the list was even shorter when it involved Sam's life. Dean also trusted her to not agree with Gordon Walker's approach to dealing with Sam. That said a lot. He did the math though. Dean must have left her a few months before he came to get Sam from Stanford to go look for their father when they thought he went missing when the truth was, their father had picked up the Yellow Eyed Demon's trail. That felt like a lifetime ago.

Dean returned a few moments later and he looked a bit shifty, glancing over his shoulder as he took a seat. "Can we leave?"

Before Sam could ask what was wrong, Karis beat him to the punch. "I'm guessing the bartender's boyfriend didn't appreciate you hitting on her."

"You knew?" Dean asked in surprise.

"I'm observant, Dean," she countered. "The big scary biker dude was far too interested in your conversation to be idle curiosity."

Dean looked like he wanted to ask why she didn't warn him but decided against it at the last second. "Now, please?"

Sam and Karis were all too amused by the situation especially since the bartender's boyfriend was still watching Dean like a hawk, probably trying to decide if it was worth starting a fight. While it would have proved a good lesson for Dean to hang around for a little longer, Sam and Karis decided to humour him. They put money on the table – Karis insisted on either paying for her stuff or at least contributing – and then they left, returning to the motel for a well-deserved rest. As he climbed into bed, Sam realised he had a lot of respect for Karis. She sat and watched Dean calmly flirt with another woman and didn't even look annoyed. He doubted that Dean or himself would have been that restrained. His last thought before falling asleep had been that he was glad the last few days had been vision free but how long could that last for?


	4. You Drive Me Crazy

**Most of the information in this chapter is true, regarding the asylum and Dr Cotton. I changed some information about it: the building is still open today but I've got it abandoned in my story and, as far as I am aware, it isn't haunted. Dr Cotton retired in 1930 and died in 1933 as a result of a heart attack. His theories and what he did to patients, however, is 100% accurate.**

**This chapter is guest starring the Ghostfacers so if you haven't seen Season 1 Episode 17 **_**Hell House**_** or Season 3 Episode 13 **_**Ghostfacers**_**, be aware of minor spoilers.**

**Thank you for the reviews, alerts and favourites. I am very pleased to know that you are still enjoying this story.**

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**Chapter 4 You Drive Me Crazy**

It had been just over a week since the Dryad incident. The cut along Karis' palm had healed well and only a thin white line was still visible but this was also fading fast. In the time that Karis had spent with Sam and Dean, there had been no unexplainable visions. Sam hadn't even had so much as a headache. Karis was starting to wonder if this was some elaborate plan developed by Bobby to get her and Dean back together by forcing them to spend time with each other. While it didn't seem like a plausible explanation, Karis still found herself considering it. It was either that ridiculous notion or whatever had been controlling Sam's visions had given up, which also didn't seem likely. None of them had spoken about this in case they jinxed it.

Karis had decided to wait another week to see if something happened before moving on. As much as she liked Sam, being around Dean was proving to be difficult even though she didn't let it show. Since the Dryad, they were having difficulty picking up a job and so, she and Dean had adopted a new policy for dealing with each other: if it didn't involve hunting then they only spoke to each other when absolutely necessary and they both put in a lot of effort to make sure it was rarely necessary. Poor Sam was stuck in the middle but every now and then, he tried to trick them into having a conversation. It worked…once.

They were sitting in a small coffee shop, trying to find a new case to work on. Sam had his laptop out and Dean was looking through various copies of newspapers that the coffee shop had. Karis had called her grandfather to find out if he had picked up anything and ended up in a conversation – or lecture – about why she shouldn't be around Dean…a conversation she was desperately trying to get out of, even though her contributions consisted of 'Yes, Gramps', 'No, Gramps' and 'I know'. At least she had time to drink her coffee and eat her cake between responses. The boys had also picked up on the fact that the phone call was not going according to plan but they weren't coming to her rescue or providing her with a believable excuse to get out of it.

"Well, this is interesting," Dean suddenly commented without looking up from the newspaper.

Luckily for Karis, her grandfather had reached the point in the lecture where her input was no longer required so she adjusted her cell phone so she could hear them better without her grandfather realising she wasn't listening anymore.

Sam looked up from his laptop. "What is?"

"A couple of bodies were found in an abandoned asylum," Dean answered.

"What's the name of the asylum?" Sam asked.

"The Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, New Jersey," Dean read from the article.

There was some silence as Sam typed the name for an internet search and then he started to browse the results. Karis was far more interested in this conversation than her grandfather's lecture.

"Huh," Sam remarked quietly. "This isn't the first time either. There's a long history of bodies being found in or around the asylum. The locals believe the place is haunted."

"As if asylums weren't creepy enough on their own," Karis commented quietly. Haunted houses she could handle without a problem but haunted asylums were completely different and were in a league of their own. The fact that they were so popular in horror movies didn't help either.

"The building has been locked up and closed down but people still manage to find their way in," Sam continued. "It seems like there have also been a few suicides there. It's really popular with a lot of theorists."

"Popular with the conspiracy nut jobs, you mean," Dean corrected.

Sam smiled in amusement. "It's worth a look, don't you think?"

Dean sighed. "Sure. Why not?"

Karis told her grandfather that she loved him and then promptly hung up. She loved her grandfather but sometimes, he got a bit carried away. In this case, it was listing all of Dean's character flaws, every mistake he had ever made and reasons why travelling with him again was a terrible idea. Karis agreed with the last point but she wasn't here to get back together with him or even to find closure. There was a demon problem and she agreed to help deal with it. Nothing more. Or so she had repeatedly told herself. They packed up their stuff and headed for New Jersey a few days' drive away which passed largely in silence.

They arrived in the early afternoon and after getting some supplies (mostly consisting of pie and beer), they checked into a motel and started to do some research. Sam was investigating victims and trying to find out if there were any witnesses or survivors that could give them some insight into who the ghost was and burn the remains. Karis was checking into the history of the asylum. And since he had done all the driving with very few complaints, Dean was taking a nap. They had made good time so Karis and Sam didn't complain and they worked pretty well together.

Karis drank her beer and ate some pie as she did her research and was slowly starting to regret the decision to eat the pie. While she wasn't expecting the asylum to have a happy story – it was haunted and abandoned, after all – she really didn't like the direction this story was taking. By late afternoon, Dean finally woke up and immediately went in search for his pie. Once he was seated at the table and eating, he asked Sam a question but Karis was too creeped out to really pay attention. She didn't have a weak stomach however when it came to matters of torture, or anything that could be considered torture, it made her very uncomfortable.

"Karis, are you all right?" Sam suddenly asked. "You look like you're gonna be sick."

"And you didn't even finish your pie," Dean noticed, like it was all the proof he needed that something was wrong.

Rather than answer the question, Karis looked up and decided to ask one instead. "Were the victims missing body parts?"

Sam nodded slowly. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," she replied.

"You know who the ghost is?" Dean asked. Whatever Karis and Dean felt for each other personally wouldn't affect the way they worked the case.

Karis leaned back in her chair and sighed. "I don't know for sure. The place was built in 1848 so a lot of patients have come and gone but in 1907, there was a new medical director, a Doctor Henry Cotton. He believed that infections were the cause of mental illness and would remove the infected part, sometimes without the patients' consent. In some cases the parts weren't even infected but the doctor removed them anyway."

"And by parts, you mean…?" Sam asked.

Karis really wished he hadn't asked that particular question. "Teeth, gall bladder, stomachs, testicles." She mentioned that last one simply for Dean's reaction and wasn't disappointed. "Anything, really. Most patients died on the table or shortly afterwards."

"This Dr Cotton sounds like a good suspect," Sam pointed out.

"Maybe not," Karis replied. "He made his research well known and no one tried to stop him so it is possible that his nurses or other doctors there had the same theory about mental illnesses and could have done it too."

"What happened to the good doctor?" Dean asked. Apparently, he was unaffected by the gory details and continued to eat pie. Then again, Karis couldn't remember anything that could get between him and his beloved pie.

"No one knows for sure," Karis answered. "He just disappeared in 1933 while still working at the asylum. He just didn't make it home one night and the last place anyone saw him was at work."

"So it's possible his remains might be hidden somewhere in the asylum?" Sam asked.

Karis shrugged. "His patients were unhappy with his choices. It's a theory, anyway."

"Great," Dean said sarcastically. "A scavenger hunt in a haunted asylum."

It was getting close to dark and because they really had no idea who the ghost was, they decided to check out the asylum that night. That way, they could look for the remains and identify the ghost. If Dr Cotton wasn't the ghost, then they hadn't wasted anything by focusing on finding his remains. They took some time to eat some proper food – 'proper' being used loosely – and then packed what they would need: their sawed off shotguns, rock salt rounds, canisters of rock salt, container of lighter fluid, matches, flashlights and they all made sure to take their handguns with pure iron rounds as a backup which they all kept on their person and out of sight.

As soon as they were sure that they had everything, they set out for the asylum and arrived just after dark. Dean parked the Impala a short distance away where she – proof that Karis had spent far too much time around Dean – wouldn't be found and would be safe. Karis had often joked that Dean loved that car more than he loved her and Dean would retort with the fact that the Impala didn't argue with him. That had been during happier times. Dean led the way from the car to the asylum with Karis behind him and Sam bringing up the rear in case they stumbled on some cops guarding the place.

Apparently, enough time had passed since the last deaths that the place was no longer considered a crime scene. A tall chain link fence had been set up around the perimeter of the building to keep people out but there wasn't a chain or lock wrapped around the gate like they had expected. Maybe the cops forgot to put it back when they cleared out. Dean opened the gate and they all stepped through without a problem. It was dark enough that they all had their flashlights out and they approached the main entrance. The wooden double doors hung loosely on their hinges and the windows – covered in bars and fencing to keep people from escaping – were covered in a layer of dust.

Sam carefully pushed the doors open. They stepped in and Karis resisted the urge to shudder. The main desk was still in position and appeared mostly undamaged. The large area was open, mostly because the furniture had been tossed around or probably stolen. There were parts of chairs, tables and even wheelchairs scattered throughout the room like a riot had taken place. The walls were covered in spray paint graffiti, probably local kids trying to prove how tough they were. Dust was everywhere and a large plastic tarp (which had probably covered the desk at some point) was swaying in a non-existent breeze. Dead leaves and other pieces of trash had been blown in over the years as well.

Karis walked over to the main desk and started to check for any useful documents that may have survived the passage of time. She had just opened the top drawer when there was a noise down one of the corridors. All three of them froze and looked down the corridor. Another noise followed. Sam and Dean looked at Karis and she nodded her head in the direction of the noise. It was their way of asking if she would be fine on her own and she told them to get moving. Besides, ghosts typically only showed themselves closer to midnight. She would be fine.

Sam and Dean took out their handguns and quickly disappeared from view. Karis watched them for a few moments before going back to the drawers. A few minutes passed silently and then a strong wind started to blow. Karis looked up in confusion as all the dead leaves and other stuff glided across the floor towards the back wall. And then, the doors slammed closed. That was very weird. Karis approached the doors and tried to open them. They refused to budge even though Sam managed to open them with a gentle push. Karis walked over to one of the nearby windows that had been designed to open. She tried to open it with all her might and nothing. That was not a good sign.

Karis took out her handgun and went after Sam and Dean. She checked her watch as she walked. It was a little after 10pm. Definitely not a good sign. It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea how far they had gone and she could walk around for ages without finding them since a short while had passed. Apparently, she didn't need to worry. Voices echoed down the corridor as she got closer. They were too distorted to make out anything but she recognised Sam and Dean. Maybe there was a group of kids staying the night as part of a dare?

Karis pushed through the door and was immediately blinded by multiple flashlights. Someone also shrieked loudly. She held up her hand to block the light and squinted. A moment later, the flashlights dropped and she got her first look at the room. It was another large room but someone had used an old desk to set up all sorts of computer equipment. A bright camping lantern had been placed in the centre. Four people were standing there, looking quite surprised: three men and a woman. It took her a few moments to recognise the Ghostfacers. Her grandfather thought their series of clips online were hilarious and had even shown her a few. At least this explained why the gate out front wasn't locked. Sam and Dean were standing nearby, looking very unimpressed.

"Who are you?" the girl asked.

She had long black hair and if Karis remembered correctly, her named was Maggie. She also noticed the three young men were staring at her like she was some mythical creature. They probably didn't meet many women.

She glanced at Sam and Dean. "Karis. You're the people who pretend to fight ghosts, right?"

"P-p-pretend?" one of the young men stuttered irritably. Ed, she guessed. "We don't pretend!"

Sam and Dean were trying very hard not to laugh but they were both smirking.

"Really?" Karis asked in disbelief. It was a miracle they were still alive.

"You watch our show?" the other young man asked hopefully. Harry, most likely.

"My grandfather does," Karis answered and then suddenly remembered why she'd come here so she turned to face Sam and Dean. "We have a problem."

"You mean besides them?" Dean asked.

Karis then realised that they all had cameras and aside from Maggie (who was moving it with the conversation) was all focused on her…and one particular camera was focused on her chest area. She knew that if anyone could make them put their cameras away, it would have been Sam and Dean but since the cameras were still rolling, they weren't going anywhere. That didn't give them permission to film whatever they wanted though.

"If you don't aim that camera higher, I'll shoot it," Karis informed the cameraman. Spruce, the only other member of the Ghostfacers she could remember.

The cameraman obeyed almost immediately and then Sam and Dean also realised she had the undivided attention of all three men. Sam was amused, Dean was not. The protective boyfriend routine would have saved her from a lot of discomfit but then again, Dean had no reason to feel protective of her anymore especially around a group of nerds as well as the fact that he had made the decision to not be her boyfriend anymore.

"What's the problem?" Sam asked.

"This," Karis responded and shot the closest window.

The Ghostfacers all jumped in surprise and Harry shrieked again. The bullet hit the window, did absolutely no damage and then cluttered to the floor. Dean walked over and picked up the bullet. It was flat, as if it hit something rock hard. He passed it to Sam and the three of them exchanged grim looks.

"What does that mean?" Maggie asked worriedly.

"Remember the Morton House?" Sam asked.

Karis looked between Sam and Dean as she put her handgun away. "Wait a minute. You know them?"

"Yeah," Sam answered, like he wished he didn't know them at all.

"Unfortunately." Dean was looking at them like they were a bunch of idiots and couldn't wait for them to leave.

"We met Harry and Ed in Texas where we found a Tulpa and then we met the rest at the Morton House," Sam added.

"The Morton House?" Karis repeated incredulously and then looked over the team again. "Huh."

"Anyway," Sam continued his explanation to Maggie. "We couldn't get out of the house."

"The supernatural lockdown?" Maggie recalled unsurely. Perhaps there was some potential in this one.

"Ghosts don't like it when people leave, especially the angry ones," Dean explained. "So they put the house into lockdown."

"If you knew this was coming, why is it a problem?" Ed challenged, like he was trying to prove he was better than Dean.

"Ghosts typically appear around midnight until dawn," Karis answered. "The lockdown usually happens around then too. It's early and very strong."

Harry frowned. "I don't…"

Karis sighed. "This is one very pissed off spirit. Now, for spirits, anger equals power. Do the math."

There were a few silent minutes as the Ghostfacers tried to figure out what she meant and when they finally realised what she meant, Karis could only roll her eyes at their combined moment of dawning comprehension. Then she looked over to Sam and Dean and mouthed the words: _We're probably going to die_. They nodded in agreement.

"I don't get it," Sam suddenly commented. "The Morton House, you thought it was just missing people but this time, you choose a ghost that leaves bodies?"

Harry and Ed shared a very confused and surprised look.

"The ghost is killing people?" Harry asked in shock. "We just heard the place was haunted with a lot of spirits. Patients wandering the halls, that sort of thing."

"How did you explain the bodies then?" Dean asked.

Ed tried to look cool when he answered. "People."

"You thought people were killing the victims and just leaving the bodies in a place you know is haunted?" Sam summarised in disbelief. "That it was just a coincidence?"

Ed and Harry started to shift their weight uncomfortably. "Well…yeah."

"Seriously, dude?" Spruce asked in annoyance. "I thought you did the research."

Sam, Dean and Karis took a few steps away from the Ghostfacers so they could have a discussion without them overhearing it.

"What do we do now?" Karis asked softly.

"We can't leave and we can't get them out of here," Sam pointed out.

"And they'll probably die without us," Dean agreed.

Sam sighed. "I guess we'll have to keep an eye on them."

"And hunt at the same time?" Karis asked. "This case just keeps getting better and better."

"We don't need babysitters," Harry suddenly said.

They turned around and found the Ghostfacers had followed them and were eavesdropping on the conversation.

Karis raised an eyebrow. "You shrieked when I walked through the door."

"You…uh… heard that?" Harry asked awkwardly.

Karis had no idea how to respond to that so she chose not to and then turned to face Sam and Dean. "The ghost obviously knows we're here. It's only a matter of time until it makes its move."

"Agreed," Dean replied. "Let's get searching."

Dean handed out the shotguns to Sam and Karis as well as a few spare rounds before taking out his own. Then they headed out of the _Eagle's Nest_, as the Ghostfacers liked to call it, to start looking for some information. The Ghostfacers didn't seem all that thrilled about travelling in a pack but Karis noticed that they seemed to gravitate towards Sam and Dean, like they would protect them. Karis remained at the back and was just grateful the cameras weren't on her anymore. These walls were free of graffiti and everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. People probably didn't venture this far into the asylum.

The corridor led them past various empty cells that only had broken furniture and rusted bed frames inside. It soon widened into an area that was smaller than the Eagle's Nest but still had quite a bit of space. It was probably a nurse's station or an area where the patients could interact, like a common room. They all split up to search for anything that would help them and Karis found herself going through the drawers of a really old desk. The drawers were mostly empty aside from the usual stationery and any pieces of paper she found were so faded it was impossible to make out any writing. Karis wasn't one to give up that easily though.

She was staring at something that looked like it may have once been an official document of some kind and she was trying very hard to make out any words. It had only been a few moments when she realised someone had approached her. A quick glance revealed that Ed had come over with his camera. Karis was trying very hard to ignore him. She didn't like the fact that the Ghostfacers were obviously amateurs when it came to actually facing ghosts yet they chose not to learn from past experiences. The way Sam and Dean handled them showed they were also pretty frustrated with the Ghostfacers but had no choice to look after them.

"So…what's your story?" Ed asked, once again trying to look cool.

Karis glanced up again to see if he was serious before focusing on the document again. "My story?" she repeated sceptically.

As Hunters went, her story was pretty boring and she never could understand people's fascination with why she chose to hunt. Mary Winchester had been killed by Azazel thus causing the Winchesters to hunt. Bobby's wife had been possessed by a demon so he was forced to kill her (something he has never forgiven himself for). And Karis? She chose to hunt simply because her father gave her a choice. Comparatively speaking, it just wasn't something she thought made her special or even interesting.

"How do you know the Winchesters?" Ed asked and it sounded like there was a hint of jealousy there.

But it was a simple enough question so she decided to humour him. "I knew their father so I suppose you could say we grew up together."

"Oh," Ed replied.

"The story not as exciting as you were expecting?" Karis asked.

"It's just more…innocent than I was expecting," Ed answered, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"We did date for a while, Dean and I," Karis added and was amused when he looked even more uncomfortable. She did tilt her head thoughtfully after a moment. "What is it with you and Harry and the Winchesters? There seems to be a lot of dislike for acquaintances."

Ed shrugged and fidgeted nervously…maybe it was more accurate to say he was annoyed as opposed to nervous. "Well, they got us arrested in Texas and after the Morton House they erased all of our files with an electromagnet. And they're just douchebags."

Despite herself, Karis smiled. She was well aware of the fact that Dean really could act like a douchebag but she was one of the few people that understood why. She turned serious and looked at Ed. "I know Dean can be difficult to get along with but you also need to know why. We face death on a daily basis doing what we do. People we couldn't save no matter how hard we tried. People we were too late to save. And people we could have saved if only they had listened to us. Sam, Dean and I have lost friends and even family and there is a point where you just can't see it anymore but you don't have a choice because if we do nothing, more people will die. You and your friends treat this as reality TV where, for us, it's life or death." Even though her tone was gentle, she also made sure to get her point across.

He was silent for a long moment. "Then why do you do it?"

"Because if we have the ability and the knowledge to save lives, then we have a duty to do it," Karis answered. "And if we don't do it, who will? Ordinary people aren't ready to know that ghosts exist and I can't blame. No one wants to find out they're living in a horror movie or that their lives aren't a Disney movie because these ghosts won't hesitate to kill people."

"That's a harsh way of putting it," Ed commented.

"Perhaps," Karis said. "But once you walk into this world of monsters and ghosts, there isn't room to be gentle. Hesitation or the wrong information could get you killed."

"You're very different to the Winchesters," Ed abruptly mentioned.

Now she was intrigued. "How so?"

"You actually use words instead of grunts."

Karis actually chuckled at that and even though it was soft, she did notice out of the corner of her eye that Dean was suddenly interested in her conversation with Ed. She looked at the document again and she could make out a few words but they were so spaced out, it was impossible to figure out the context. Ed had moved on and went to investigate a filing cabinet just behind Karis and the faded label mentioned something about employee records. He struggled to open it because it was locked so she walked over and took out her knife. She put the blade in the very small gap and then gave the hilt a short, sharp push. The lock was so old and rusted that it broke easily and the drawer opened. Just as she put her knife away, her flashlight started to falter.

A quick look around showed that everyone was having similar problems: the cameras were going haywire, Harry was getting very excited because he recorded a drop in temperature and the brothers readied their shotguns. Karis tensed and took a step back towards the desk to get her shotgun. A spirit suddenly appeared in the centre of the room, far away from everyone. He looked to be an older man with short grey hair and a limp frame. His patient's robe hung loosely on his body and dark bruises circled his wrists and ankles. He just stood there, not even trying to make a move towards anyone.

Everyone remained frozen in place since they had no idea what to do since the spirit didn't seem interested in any of them. Considering the way the equipment had reacted, Karis had been expecting a pretty angry ghost to show up. Angry ghosts didn't wait for an invitation to attack. On the other hand, this spirit did choose to show itself. There had to be a reason for it. Karis gripped her shotgun tightly and slowly approached the spirit. The moment Dean realised what she was doing, he tried to order her to stop but Karis ignored him. When she was only a step away, she stopped. The spirit slowly turned to face her, leaned forward and whispered a single word. Then he was gone. With a frown, she turned to face the others.

"What did he say?" Sam asked eagerly.

"Many," she answered distractedly.

"That's it?" Dean asked.

Karis resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "No, Dean. He told me the secret of life and I'm choosing to keep it to myself," she replied sarcastically. He didn't retort and settled on giving her a look instead.

"That could mean a lot of things," Sam said, continuing as if Karis and Dean hadn't spoken. "Many victims, many bodies?"

"Many ghosts?" Harry suggested quietly.

"Spirits are sometimes trapped where they were killed by a powerful ghost," Karis said slowly, earning a smile from Harry that she didn't dismiss him immediately. "But spirits don't often warn the living unless…"

"You think he was a death omen?" Sam asked sceptically.

"Maybe, in a sense," Karis answered as she tried to get her thoughts in order.

"Um…what's a death omen?" Maggie interjected.

"Spirits sometimes don't want revenge for their death but justice," Sam explained. "So, they'll warn the next victim. Dean and I encountered one in Baltimore a few years ago. But they're rare."

"Ghosts that are trapped by other ghosts are here against their will," Karis argued. "Meaning they want to be put to rest. Not a death omen, per se, but still…I don't think every ghost here is dangerous. He wanted to warn us about something."

"Guys, shouldn't the flashlights be working again?" Spruce asked nervously.

They all realised at the same moment that they weren't out of trouble just yet. The patient probably wasn't the powerful ghost they were all expecting which really did not bode well. Everyone remained where they were and looked in every direction to make sure they weren't taken off guard. And then there was chaos. A powerful wind started to blow, picking up every dead leaf, loose piece of paper and anything else light enough. Furniture was flung around the room (which probably explained why everything inside the asylum was broken) and Karis had to dodge a flying chair which then collided with the far wall and shattered into pieces. With this wind, there was no point in trying to put down some salt because it would just get blown away.

There was so much confusion as everyone constantly moved around the room, trying to dodge various pieces of flying furniture and trying to make sure there wasn't a ghost lurking somewhere. Karis sidestepped to avoid a piece of the same chair that had nearly hit her earlier and then, some force pulled her shotgun from her hand and sent it scattering across the floor. Karis turned around and came face to face with another ghost. This one looked more like an orderly than a patient or a doctor. He looked young – around mid-thirties – with brown hair and a lot of muscles. The orderly was also much taller than Karis (which wasn't saying much since even Dean was taller than her) and there was a large circle around his stomach made of dried blood – probably how he died.

Once Karis got over how big he was, she realised he had a pretty large knife in his hand and was coming for her. She didn't have time to call for help, assuming she would even be heard over the commotion, and she couldn't even draw one of her knives or her gun because this guy, despite his size, was fast. It took all of Karis' concentration and speed to dodge the knife and the various objects flying around the room. Unfortunately, it didn't take long to run out of space and soon, her back was flat against a wall. The orderly placed his hand over her throat and she struggled to remove it.

He wasn't strangling her which made no sense…until Karis became aware of another presence. To her left was another ghost. This one was quite obviously a doctor, judging from his lab coat. It took her a moment to make out the name on the coat: Dr Cotton. Oh boy. She started to squirm even more but the orderly had an iron grip. The doctor reached out and tilted her head to the side. There was a brief pinch on her neck. That wasn't so bad. The doctor took a step back and the orderly let her go. Karis tried to reach for her knife but then, everything went sideways. It took her a moment to realise that she meant that literally and that she had collapsed on the floor. Her body wasn't responding and her thoughts were sluggish.

The patient's warning finally made sense: _many dangerous ghosts_. With that thought, the world went black.

* * *

Dean seemed to have become the target of a whirlwind of angry papers. Every time he managed to snatch one out of his face, another just took its place. With every step he took, the paper followed him but at least he didn't have to worry about being attacked by the furniture. Unfortunately, it also meant he had nothing to shoot at. He just kept trying to move the paper away from his face so he could see the others. He managed to catch a few glimpses. Sammy was having his own battle with a lamp and its snakelike cord wrapping around his feet while the Ghostfacers had bunched together and tried to avoid being hit. That only left…

"Karis!" Dean shouted but there was too much noise.

She was currently dodging attacks from a very big ghost and her shotgun was on the other side of the room. Dean tried to move towards her but the paper bunched up around his feet so he couldn't move. He decided to use the shotgun instead. The paper was proving to be a much more effective foe than he had anticipated. Every time he lined up the shot, paper blew in his face and with Karis being so close to the ghost, he couldn't risk hitting her too. Somehow, more paper joined the rest and he was having a hard time standing upright, let alone going to rescue Karis. He was knocked to the floor and could only catch a few glimpses: Karis cornered against the wall, a second ghost appearing, Karis lying on the floor and then they were gone.

A few moments passed and the wind disappeared. Furniture hit the floor with loud crashes, the paper floated down to the floor gracefully and Sam threw the lamp across the room angrily. Dean got to his feet and ran to where he had last seen Karis. There weren't any doors nearby and there was nothing on the floor that showed she had even been there. He could feel panic setting in. As much as he pretended he didn't care about her, he really did but he wasn't going to show it now. The Ghostfacers approached Sam and looked around in confusion.

"Where's Karis?" Sam asked with a frown.

Dean shook his head slowly. "Gone."

"What?" Sam demanded.

"The ghosts took her."

"Why?" Sam asked again. "She's the sanest person I know."

"It doesn't matter," Dean replied. "Remember what she said about the doctor? It didn't matter whether there was an infection or not."

Sam clenched his jaw. "We have to find her."

Dean retrieved her shotgun and put it back in the duffle bag. Then he turned to face the Ghostfacers and was about to order them to stay put but much to his surprise, Ed wasn't having any of it.

"I'm coming with you," he decided and seemed oddly determined.

Dean exchanged a look with Sam. "If this has something to do with the crush you have on her, she won't be impressed if you get yourself killed."

"No, it doesn't," Ed said and Dean believed him. "It's something she said. I'm coming," he repeated firmly.

Harry, Maggie and Spruce quickly volunteered too and Dean couldn't help but admire Karis. She'd met them briefly and they were willing to find her. He and Sam had met them twice before and there was nothing more than a tolerance there.

"Fine," Dean caved. He didn't want to waste any time arguing and led the way through the closest door. He was going to search this whole place if he had to.


	5. Therapy

**This chapter almost didn't make it due to writer's block so I do apologise if the last quarter of the chapter isn't that great. We'll start getting into demons and visions and stuff in the next chapters so don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it. These first few chapters were all about setting the stage.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews, favourites and alerts. They do mean a lot and are the reasons why I keep writing.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Therapy**

The asylum was much larger than they had anticipated with multiple floors and rooms for various purposes. There was no trail to follow since ghosts didn't leave trails and they couldn't use the equipment either since other ghosts lingered in the rooms. These ghosts were all dressed as patients and didn't move, like they were trapped in their own worlds or deep in thought. It was pointless to waste any time on these ghosts but every time Dean looked at one and saw horrible scars or injuries, he kept thinking that Karis could be next which just spurred him on faster.

They had all agreed that their priority needed to be finding her. The ghosts had taken her for a reason and if the past was any indication, they didn't have much time to save her life. The fact that she was specifically taken unsettled Dean because it made no sense. Karis was the mentally healthiest person he knew since she had a unique acceptance of the dangers of hunting and somehow managed to keep her emotions in check, even in the worst situations. Dean knew that after his trip to Hell and even some choices he'd made before would make him a good candidate for the psycho doctor and as much as he didn't want to admit it, Sam was also a good candidate with his recent decisions to hang out with Ruby.

So why take Karis? Then he suddenly remembered what Bobby had told him before they left to investigate the Dryad. Something had happened to her – something worse than Dean's choice to leave her – and she refused to mention it. Dean wasn't surprised because he knew he deserved it but that just left him curious. And then there was Karis' reaction to the asylum's history. He had never known her to be squeamish or uncomfortable. She wasn't a robot but he had never seen her that unsettled before. Whatever happened must have been bad and he hated himself that he wasn't around to prevent it, whatever it was. His main reason for leaving was he thought she would be better off without him but apparently he was wrong and it was too late to fix it.

Dean needed to focus on the situation at hand. Besides being large, the asylum was also like a maze. Some doors wouldn't open which could have been coincidence or the ghosts were herding them. But where to? Away from Karis or towards something bad? Either way, they needed to keep moving. After a while, the corridor led to a T-Junction with a door leading in both directions. The signs were so old that the lettering had faded so they had no idea where the doors led. Dean walked towards the left door and Sam went to the right. A quick test revealed that both doors were unlocked.

"What do you wanna do?" Sam asked. "Split up and cover more ground?"

"Good idea," Dean replied, even though he really didn't want to get stuck with any member of the Ghostfacers.

He took a step through his door and it immediately slammed behind him. He tried to open it from his side with Sam and the others trying from their side with no luck. Dean hit the door in frustration.

"Keep going," he instructed. "I'll see where this goes."

"Call my phone if you find her," Sam said through the door. "We'll do the same."

"Got it," Dean responded and readied his shotgun. A part of him really wanted to find a ghost just so he could shoot it in the face.

There was nothing remarkable about the corridor or any indication of where it led but since his flashlight was working normally again, he assumed it was a ghost free area. He readjusted the strap of his duffle bag and started walking forward, wondering what kind of trouble Karis managed to get herself into.

* * *

Karis slowly opened her eyes but the room was unfocused. She closed them again and slowly opened them. Bit by bit, the room slowly came into focus and she seriously wished it hadn't. The room looked like a laboratory with its white walls and material screens on wheels to divide it up. A couple of hospital beds were spread haphazardly and…was that dried blood on the sheets? And on the walls? An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. This was a very bad room to be in and the sedative was making her thoughts sluggish. She tried to get up so she could leave but found she couldn't move.

That uneasy feeling was slowly turning into panic. She looked down. Her arms and legs were strapped to a chair…made of metal with wires coming out of the back of it. Karis had seen enough horror movies about asylums to know this was an old fashioned shock therapy device. After all these years, it couldn't work…right? Rather than wonder about its current state of functionality, she focused on the straps. Whoever had done them made them really tight but with enough movement, perhaps they would break and she could get out of this thing.

Karis started wiggling her right wrist, testing the strength of the restraints while trying to move them. After a few minutes of this, she had to stop. All she had achieved was giving herself a bruise so she tried the next thing: pulling the restraints. She always thought she was athletic and was strong enough to look after herself but these restraints barely even budged. What the hell were they made of? Karis relaxed and tried to come up with a plan that didn't involve hurting herself. She couldn't reach her knife or her lockpicks since her feet were just as tightly secured as her wrists. The chair itself was even bolted to the floor so there was no moving that. Things were not looking good and the scenery was not helping.

The lights in the room abruptly came on and being hospital strength, the room was very bright. A couple of light bulbs exploded since they were so old and a few wires sparked but the room was still very well lit, especially after the dimness of hunting in an asylum at night. Karis had to squint for a few moments and when she was able to open her eyes again, she jumped. The orderly was standing right in front of her and his sudden appearance startled her. He scowled down at her and folded his arms across his chest but did not come any closer. Karis stared at him for a few moments, unsure of what to do now. The last thing she wanted was to be sedated again, especially now that her brain was functioning normally again.

A few awkward moments passed as they stared at each other. If the orderly was responsible for the lights coming on, why was he just standing there? And then a thought suddenly occurred to her. Where was Dr Cotton? As if on cue, the doctor suddenly appeared on her side and approached the electric chair. Karis knew if she struggled too much or fought against anything at all, the orderly would step in and make things very painful for her. She was sure that Dean would be looking for her…and Sam, she added as an afterthought. Maybe all she needed to do was stall for time. Dr Cotton was still standing beside her, almost as if he was examining her.

"What do you want from me?" Karis asked in a steady voice.

Dr Cotton gave her a look of pity. "To help you, my dear."

Karis was taken aback by how convinced he sounded. "I don't need your help," she managed.

Dr Cotton recoiled and then looked into her eyes. "Those who think they don't need help are often most in need of it."

At that, she was rendered speechless for a few moments. "What makes you think I need help?"

"I can sense your anger, my dear," Dr Cotton answered patiently and started fiddling with the wires at the back of the chair. "It isn't healthy to keep your emotions bottled up like that or you'll explode one day. Anger is a very destructive emotion after all."

It was true that Karis had a lot of anger which she kept hidden from everyone, mostly because she didn't know how to deal with it without losing those who were important in her life. Her anger was directed at her father, grandfather and Bobby because they took so long to find her when she'd been taken. A lot of anger was directed at Dean because of the way he left things between them and then acted like nothing had happened. She was even angry at hunting in general because no matter how hard she tried, people still died on her watch. But, most of all, she was angry at herself for all the mistakes she'd made and for trusting the wrong people over and over again.

Dr Cotton then stretched his arm out towards her. Karis knew some ghosts could really mess with people's minds and emotions with nothing more than a touch. She tried to back away but the chair prevented her from really doing anything useful. Dr Cotton grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. A part of her was relieved that he didn't have any influence over her.

"Don't be afraid," Dr Cotton murmured reassuringly. "This won't hurt. Shock therapy has many benefits and once I've helped you, I can help your friend."

Karis momentarily forgot to be afraid. "My friend?" she repeated with a frown.

"Yes," Dr Cotton answered serenely. "The tall one."

"Sam?" Karis whispered in confusion.

"There is a darkness within him," Dr Cotton said and walked over to the nearby control panel for the electric chair. "An infection that is spreading within him and corrupting his soul. But do not worry. I will cure him too."

Karis was too confused to reply. Could he be talking about the demon blood from Azazel? It just didn't seem possible that after so many years that it would be corrupting him now.

Dr Cotton then turned to address the orderly. "When you are finished here, meet me in the basement. We have a lot of work to do, Mr Wells."

"Yes, Doctor," the orderly replied.

And just like that, Dr Cotton was gone. Karis had no idea what was a bigger problem: her current dilemma or Dr Cotton going after Sam and she had no way of warning anyone. She started fidgeting with the restraints again and then stopped. She could have sworn someone had called her name. The orderly had also paused on his way to the control panel. Then it happened again.

"Dean?" Karis cried out, hoping it wasn't just her imagination.

Maybe he saw the lights and decided to investigate? The orderly apparently disapproved of her calling for help and walked towards her but she had no idea what he planned to do. Before he could do anything, there was a shotgun blast and the orderly dissipated. Dean was standing in the doorway with his shotgun ready and looking around the room, almost daring the ghost to show itself again. Karis immediately relaxed.

"Don't quote me on this but I am really happy to see you," she said breathlessly.

Dean smiled and walked over. "What's going on here?"

"Anger management, apparently," Karis answered. "Are you going to get me out of this thing or are you just going to stand there, smirking?"

In answer, Dean walked over and started to undo the restraint around her left wrist. The lights dimmed and then flickered.

"Dean?" Karis warned unsurely.

The chair suddenly hummed to life and they exchanged a look. They had a few moments before it would go live. Dean picked up the pace and once her wrist was free, he moved on to the ankle restraints while Karis started to undo the restraint around her other wrist. Just as they were all undone, Dean grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the chair and they both landed on the floor. The chair suddenly sparked violently and all the lights blew out as it drained the power. Karis knew that if she had still been in it, the chair wouldn't have cured her of anything. It would have killed her. They didn't say anything for a moment, rather they just stared at the electric chair for a few moments as it sparked and went haywire. Karis sat up and leant her back against the wall, fully aware that Dean had just saved her life.

"Looks like I owe you one," Karis commented as they both stood up.

Dean's smirk returned which meant he had a very witty one-liner all ready to go…and then it disappeared. Karis looked over her shoulder and found the orderly had reappeared. Before she could react, she was thrown across the room as ghosts liked to do. She landed on one of the dusty hospital beds and rolled off the side, knocking over one of the material screens as she went. She propped herself up on one hand and looked around. The orderly had also thrown Dean except he went into a wall. Karis was suddenly grateful for her soft landing as unhygienic as it was.

She was just about to help him when she noticed some skeletal remains on another hospital bed that had been obscured by the screens. She quickly got to her feet and searched the corpse's clothes. Around the neck, there was a very faded hospital ID with the name '_Jason Wells, Orderly_' just visible beneath a layer of caked on dust. Karis then took out her handgun and fired a single shot at the back of the ghost as it approached Dean again, forcing it to dissipate again. The orderly must have been very pissed off because he reappeared quickly again. Dean responded by firing his shotgun into his face.

"Dean," Karis called to get his attention. "Bag!" Since the orderly was focused on Dean, he kicked the bag across the room so it stopped at her feet. "Keep him busy!"

"Not a problem," Dean replied sarcastically.

Karis chose to ignore his tone and focused on opening the duffle bag. A quick glance over her shoulder told her that the orderly was still focused on Dean. She grabbed the salt and lighter fluid and covered the skeletal remains in each. Then she lit it up with a match just as the orderly had his hands around Dean's neck. The ghost exploded in flames as they tended to do and Karis stepped away from the small inferno she had created. Dean straightened and tried to look composed after being tossed around the room like a ragdoll. That orderly must have had some anger issues of his own, back in the day. Probably the reason why Dr Cotton operated on him and caused him to become a ghost loyal to him.

"I guess this makes us even," Dean decided as he dusted himself off.

"Looks like it," Karis replied and walked over to him so she could return the duffle bag. "Where are the others?"

"We got separated," Dean answered and took out his cell phone. "I should phone Sam and let him know I saved your ass."

Karis was about to retort when she remembered what Dr Cotton had told her. In light of the chair nearly killing her, she had almost forgotten about it. "You need to warn him."

Dean looked up from his phone with a frown. "About what?"

"Dr Cotton is coming after him next," Karis answered. "He thinks Sam has an infection and that he can save him."

Dean could tell she wasn't lying so when he put the phone to his ear, he was deadly serious. "Sammy?" A pause. "No, I found her. She's fine. Listen…" Sam must have interrupted him. "No. Stay where you are. We'll come to you." Another pause and judging from Dean's expression, Sam was arguing with him. "Sammy, listen to me. The ghost is coming after you next." Dean frowned again. "Sammy?"

"What?" Karis asked uneasily.

Dean ignored her. "Ed? Where's Sam?" He pulled a face and then resisted the urge to groan, running his hand down his face in annoyance instead. "Get back to the room where we first found you, alright? Karis and I will be there soon." Then he hung up.

"What happened?"

Dean started walking down the corridor. "Sam disappeared and left his phone, shotgun and flashlight behind."

Karis rubbed her wrists absentmindedly as she tried to keep pace with Dean. "The doctor mentioned something about the basement as well. He told the orderly to meet him there when he was done with me."

Dean gave her a sideways look. "Did you and the ghost share anything else?"

She should have seen the annoying streak making a comeback so she sighed quietly. "Why do you always do this?" After being strapped to an electric chair and manhandled by an angry orderly, she really wasn't in the mood for a fight.

He looked at her blankly. "Do what?"

"One minute, we're having a normal conversation like normal people and the next…you're an ass," Karis answered. "I know we'll never get back to how we were before but is this really necessary?"

When Dean decided not to answer the question, Karis knew better than to push the subject. She had been sarcastic to him before but that was mostly whenever he said something annoying first. She would be the first to admit she wasn't entirely innocent either but she was willing to stop it. After travelling together for a week and a half, they would probably wind up killing each other if this kept up. The fact that the ghost was right played a minor role. Perhaps letting go of some anger would help and hopefully not make her a target of psycho doctor ghosts in the future.

They moved quickly and walked in silence. Karis could tell Dean was worried about Sam but what Dr Cotton had said about the younger Winchester concerned Karis. It probably wasn't her place to keep it from Dean however now was not the time to bring it up. By the time they reached the _Eagle's Nest_, the Ghostfacers had already arrived and were fidgeting anxiously. Harry was pacing, Maggie was using her camera to look around the room like she expected a ghost to jump out at her and Spruce was fiddling with the equipment like it would magically reveal Sam's location.

Ed looked up at their approach. "Are you alright?"

Karis smiled. "I'm fine, Ed, but thank you for asking. Getting kidnapped by ghosts happens more often than you think."

"Did you see anything when Sam disappeared?" Dean interjected irritably.

"Uh…there was a sharp drop in temperature, the flashlights flickered and there was interference on the cameras," Maggie recalled. "But we didn't see any ghost take him. Just like what happened in the Morton House."

"You said you did research before coming here," Karis remembered. "Did you happen to find blueprints or information about the building itself?"

Ed went behind the desk and started going through the papers he had and then passed a couple to her. She thanked him and with Dean holding a flashlight over her shoulder, she started to scan through the words quickly. They had no idea where they would find an entrance to the basement and the signs inside the asylum were so old, the lettering had faded so they were no help whatsoever. The Ghostfacers' research was probably their best bet at finding Sam, short of wandering the halls all night and hoping they would stumble upon the right door. After a couple of pages, something caught her eye so she started to read what it actually said.

"Here we go," Karis commented. "The original building had a basement but it was boarded up after a pipe burst. There were rumours Dr Cotton had his own private laboratory which he used to conduct his experiments."

"Does it say where we can find it?" Dean asked impatiently.

Karis ignored his tone again and scanned through the sentences. "Yes. A door by the area where they stored the meds."

"And do we know where that is?"

"We do, actually," Harry chimed in excitedly. "We went past it with Sam."

Karis had no idea if Harry was excited to finally contribute or if this was just nervous energy bubbling over. From the clips her grandfather had shown her, Harry always looked shifty and on edge. Where Ed kept his cool (until there was actual danger), Harry always needed to move.

"Can you remember how to get there?" Dean asked.

Harry nodded his head very quickly. "Yeah."

"Great. Then you stay here and Karis and I will go get Sammy," Dean ordered.

Karis could tell they were about to argue with him and she subtly shook her head. Where Sam was concerned, it was best not to argue and they also didn't have the time for an argument. This was the safest place for the Ghostfacers, even if it meant they wouldn't get their footage.

"What do we do if we're attacked?" Maggie asked shakily.

Karis reached into Dean's duffle bag and handed Ed her shotgun. "Just point and shoot," she instructed. Ed took it unsurely and she passed along some spare rounds. "Don't lose it. I'm going to want it back."

Dean also passed them one of the canisters of rock salt. "Make a circle and get in." He paused and thought about something. "The circle, I mean."

Karis glanced at him and wondered why he thought it was necessary to add the last bit since the instructions were pretty straightforward. Ed and Harry looked sheepish so she assumed there was a story behind it. Harry supplied directions and Dean marched off. Karis followed and took her knife out as a precaution. Just because she didn't have a shotgun didn't mean she was going to let her guard down. When they finally did reach the door, Karis tried the handle and shook her head. Without warning, Dean kicked it in and they continued on their way. The basement was much darker so Karis took her flashlight out as well. They quickly noticed there were a lot more ghosts down here, lingering in random spots, barely aware of anything.

The rumours must have been true then. The other patients upstairs probably died in their rooms or after the experiments while these patients had died down here. A lot of their injuries were worse than what they had seen already. Aside from being creepy, the ghosts did nothing. There was only one way to go which they followed until they came across a large double door. They stopped walking and turned off the flashlights. Dean peered through the small windows placed in the doors and then nodded his head down the passage. Karis understood immediately and moved so she was on the other side of the door. She was also careful not to be seen through the windows.

Once she was in position, she also looked through her window and was quite surprised by what she saw. Dr Cotton had quite the nice setup. The room had been transformed into a surgery however she could see the dust from her vantage point. The equipment was definitely old and most looked like it wouldn't work. Sam was in the centre of the room, strapped down on a bed and he looked out of it. Dr Cotton had probably sedated him as well. And speaking of the doctor, he was standing with his back towards Sam and was investigating his surgical tools. He was probably waiting for the orderly to show up and assist with whatever he had planned.

Karis then looked around the rest of the room. There was no sign of any more remains that could have belonged to Dr Cotton. That would have been too easy. Regardless, they still needed to rescue Sam. It seemed like Dean was getting his fill of heroic moments this evening. First he saved her and now he was saving his little brother. Dean looked at her and indicated his shotgun then pointed at her knife and then at Sam. She understood immediately: Dean would go in and blast the good doctor while Karis would cut through the restraints and get Sam back on his feet.

She nodded to let Dean know that she was ready. A moment later, he kicked the doors in rather loudly and immediately fired his shotgun. Karis tightened her grip around her knife's hilt and quickly moved towards Sam. She started cutting through the restraints but there were so many of them: one around each wrist, one around each ankle, another one across his chest and a final one across his stomach. Karis went as fast as she could even with the sound of the shotgun in the background. Dean had moved towards the bed so he could cover them better.

When the last restraint had finally been removed, Karis shook Sam by his shoulders to try and wake him up a bit but he only groaned sleepily. There was no time for a more delicate approach so she slapped him across the cheek as hard as she could. That got a startled look from Dean but it was enough to wake Sam up with a fright. He rubbed his cheek in confusion and Karis tried to look innocent.

"What happened?" Sam asked groggily.

Karis hurriedly went over to Dean and got Sam's shotgun from the duffle bag and passed it over. "No time to discuss that now. We need to move."

Sam frowned but took the shotgun just in time to blast the doctor. At least Dr Cotton was determined. Karis noticed that Dean looked somewhat amused although he said nothing about it. They moved as a group and slowly retreated out the room. After Sam shot him, the doctor didn't reappear but that probably meant he was biding his time and would reappear eventually. They retraced the path back to the _Eagle's Nest_ and Karis noticed the spirits of the patients had also disappeared which was really odd…unless the orderly had been the one keeping them here. Somehow, she doubted it though. Dr Cotton had remerged very quickly after being shot by salt which only happened with the really powerful bastards.

Just as Dean rounded the corner to return to the Ghostfacers, he quickly ducked back as the wall exploded. Karis and Sam exchanged a look, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"It's us, you idiots," Dean shouted in annoyance.

"Sorry!" Ed called back.

Dean looked at Karis. "You still think it was a good idea to give them a gun?"

Karis shrugged in answer and they walked back into the room, this time without getting shot at. Truth be told, Karis was a bit amused by what had happened but she knew she couldn't show it. Sam and Dean took some time to explain to the Ghostfacers what had just happened. Dean also used the salt to put down some lines by the doors to keep the doctor out. It was going to be hard to find his remains with him hanging around and considering the fact that they had no idea where to look. Experimentally, Karis walked over to the nearest window and tried to open it.

"I guess that answers that question," she murmured to herself.

"What question is that?" Spruce asked.

Karis was surprised he had even heard her. "Well, the patients' spirits disappeared so I thought maybe the orderly had been the ghost in charge here but the supernatural lockdown is still in effect. Looks like Dr Cotton is the ghost in charge after all."

"I still don't understand why he came after us," Sam commented.

"Well, I apparently have unresolved anger issues," Karis answered and hoped the topic would change quickly. She really didn't want to repeat what was said about Sam but she also didn't want to lie to them.

Sam frowned but Dean must have realised something – maybe the demon blood from Azazel was what Dr Cotton was talking about – and decided that the Ghostfacers did not need to know about it.

"We need to find his remains," Dean interjected. "Is there anything in your research about what happened to him?"

"There were a few theories," Ed answered and went through their collection of papers.

"A few?" Karis repeated and then sighed. "We don't know how long he'll stay away and if his earlier display showed us anything, it's that the salt won't work for very long. What do you think are the most credible?"

"Since when are conspiracy theories credible?" Dean asked.

Karis looked over at him. "Do you have a better idea of where we should look for the disappearing doctor's remains? They weren't in the basement." When Dean didn't have an answer for her, she looked over to Ed. "You were saying?"

It didn't take a genius to notice that Sam and Dean thought the Ghostfacers knew absolutely nothing and therefore would not be helpful so they didn't even bother asking. Karis had learnt that information often came from the strangest places and since they had decided to come into the asylum without much of a plan, the Ghostfacers were their best source even if no one wanted to admit it out loud. Karis knew she should have dug deeper into the doctor's disappearance but reading about his work and what he did to his patients was seriously unnerving and threw her off a bit. Now they were in a dangerous situation because she couldn't handle reading about things that had happened over eighty years ago.

"A popular theory is that his body is in the morgue," Ed began.

"The morgue? That sounds a bit too easy," Sam replied.

"Why the morgue?" Karis asked, just as sceptical as Sam.

"It was mentioned that someone tried to confront the doctor about his work but away from his patients so they didn't start a riot," Ed continued.

Harry decided he could also contribute to the conversation. "There are also different suspects: another doctor that didn't agree with his work, someone that was sent in to evaluate the hospital, family members of the patients and an orderly with a short fuse."

At that, Karis was definitely interested. "Does it say anything about what happened with the orderly?"

"Only that there was a struggle," Ed answered. "Only a bit of blood was found in the morgue which could have been there for a variety of innocent reasons so no one is sure what really happened."

Karis was silent as she considered this new information. It was possible that the orderly had been injured in the struggle and the doctor decided to try some of his anger management therapy on him resulting in his death which explained how his remains got down there…but not how Dr Cotton became the ghost in charge if he died after the orderly did. Unless, he died before the orderly and used his ghostly powers of persuasion to bring the orderly to that room. The morgue was looking like a strong possibility but Karis did not fancy investigating a morgue in an asylum. That just doubled the creepiness factor.

"What else you got?" Sam asked.

"The lobotomy room," Ed answered.

Karis was wrong. The morgue suddenly sounded much better.

"Let me guess: the patients got tired of the experiments and decided to dish out one of their own?" Sam asked.

"More or less," Ed answered. "But the room was searched when the building was closed down and nothing was found."

"It doesn't necessarily need to be a body," Sam pointed out. "Any sort of remains would be enough."

"That sounds disgusting," Harry commented quietly.

"You have no idea," Sam replied, causing Harry to look like he was going to be sick.

"What about the examination room?" Maggie suggested.

"Right." Ed nodded to Maggie to let her know that he appreciated the reminder but he was going to take over the explanation. "The story goes that this Dr Cotton wanted to examine a patient and when he suggested his treatment plan, the patient went ballistic and killed him then hid the body somewhere in the room. It's never been found, of course."

Karis looked at her watch. It was a little after 2am which meant there wasn't much time until dawn. It was possible that they could wait until it got light and then went to check the rooms for the remains but Karis doubted Dr Cotton would just leave them alone and even then, he was pretty powerful so holding out would prove difficult. Taking care of the remains now would also make it easier to check if they got the right place because it would end the lockdown.

"Maybe we should split up," Sam suggested. "And burn whatever we find just to be sure."

Dean looked like he wanted to argue but Karis cut in before he could start. "I'll take the morgue."

"And I'll check the lobotomy room," Sam decided.

Dean looked less than impressed. "Fine. I guess I'll take the examination room then."

They spent some time going through the information again to find where they were going and then divided up the supplies so each hunter had a shotgun, shells, salt, lighter fluid and matches. The Ghostfacers also chose a hunter to follow and Karis was beyond relieved when Maggie volunteered to join her. Spruce decided to go with Dean while Ed and Harry were joining Sam. Once they were all ready, they headed out in various directions to check their areas. Karis was starting to regret her choice and wondered why she didn't choose the exam room. Oh well. At least she wasn't alone.

Karis and Maggie walked in silence which was unusual. Ed and Harry always seemed to be talking so this made a nice change. They eventually found the morgue and Karis couldn't help but feel underwhelmed. It was really small with only a couple of drawers in the walls to store the bodies and keep them cool. There was a desk on one side of the room to keep the files and documentation…and that was it. More like a hospital, less like a horror movie. Karis took a position opposite the drawers and stared at them. She really hated this part.

"What's wrong?" Maggie asked.

Karis didn't look away from them. "I'm going to have to check each drawer," she answered. "And I'm hoping there won't be any surprises."

"Oh," Maggie replied and took a step back.

"Let me know if your camera picks up anything," she instructed and when Maggie nodded nervously, Karis prepared herself.

She placed the salt, lighter fluid and matches on the desk so it would be easier to investigate. Every drawer started with a feeling of unease then anxiety followed by relief as each drawer was empty…until she reached the last one. Instead of relief, she got a small fright as there was actually a body in this drawer. She did a quick check and found that the remains had a doctor's white lab coat on with _Dr Cotton_ sown onto it just above the breast pocket. Just as she went to collect the things she needed to salt and burn the remains, she noticed something weird and looked closer.

"Do you see something?" Maggie asked and approached slowly.

"I think all the theories are correct," Karis answered and indicated the ribs and the skull. "It looks like he was beaten since the ribs looked cracked and broken. There's also a noticeable crack in the skull right where you would expect a lobotomy to be performed."

"So you think he was beaten up in the exam room and then probably went for help," Maggie guessed.

"Then he was ambushed by the other patients and was lobotomised but they weren't doctors so they probably killed him," Karis continued and started with the salt and lighter fluid.

"What about the orderly getting attacked?" Maggie asked.

Karis half shrugged and threw the match onto the remains, squinting at the sudden brightness. "That bit I'm not sure about. Maybe the doctor wasn't as dead as people assumed and attacked the orderly. Or he was already a ghost and attacked the orderly. The hospital closed shortly after his disappearance so I wouldn't be surprised if no one actually wanted him to be found." When the flames died down, she took out her phone and called Sam and told him her theory.

"_So it's probably best if we salt and burn everything,"_ Sam decided.

"That would probably be best," she agreed. "Dr Cotton didn't attack me or Maggie while we were here so I don't think he's concerned about his remains anyway."

"_I'll pass it along to Dean."_

"Thanks, Sam, and be careful."

Karis and Maggie headed back to the _Eagle's Nest_ to wait for the others to return or for any news. After a few minutes of waiting around, Karis noticed Maggie looked like she had something on her mind and wanted to put it out in the open.

"What is it?" Karis asked.

"You, Sam and Dean don't want us to use this footage, do you?" she demanded, probably recalling what happened the last time.

Karis decided honesty would be best. "No, we don't. For one, pretty much everything we've done here is illegal. Trespassing, damage to property, what could be considered arson, among other things. And two, the world isn't ready for this."

"Sam and Dean said that last time as well but what does that even mean?"

"Do you have nightmares?" Karis suddenly asked. "About all of this?"

Maggie shifted uncomfortably. "A few, I guess."

"So do I because that is how normal people react when faced with a reality they don't want to accept," Karis replied. "The majority of people prefer to live in denial and treat us like crazy people because it's safe and because they can control the way they perceive the world. The people who will accept that ghosts are real will live the rest of their lives in fear. You and I may put on a brave face but the truth is, we all belong in the second category. And even if people accept ghosts exist, they'll expect friendly ghosts or those willing to give some information of the great beyond when in reality, ghosts are so warped by their emotions – anger, fear, a need for vengeance or even love – that they aren't human anymore and won't hesitate to kill."

"This is what you spoke to Ed about, isn't it?" Maggie asked.

"Not this specifically but I did tell him something similar," Karis admitted.

Maggie was silent for a moment and then she chose to turn off her camera. They waited in silence for a little bit longer. Sam, Ed and Harry returned next having successfully burnt anything in the room that could have any of Dr Cotton's remains on them. The doctor had made a brief appearance but was too late to stop anything. Dean and Spruce were the last to return and had apparently been the focus of Dr Cotton's rage. They had both been thrown across the room and Dean had nearly been strangled until Spruce lit the lighter fluid, saving the day (although Dean wouldn't use those specific words).

Karis checked the windows which opened effortlessly, showing that they had managed to get rid of the ghosts. She also figured that the orderly was holding on to his job in life too tightly which caused the patients to hang around but once he was gone, they finally found peace. Dr Cotton though was too desperate about his work, too angry about the accusations that he kept working only he killed people to do it. They packed up their stuff and left the asylum, just before 4am. Karis couldn't put into words how grateful she was to be out in the open again. As they were about to go their separate ways – after Sam gave them his number in case they found trouble again – the Winchesters paused and watched the Ghostfacers.

"You think we need to intervene again?" Dean asked.

Karis noticed Maggie and Ed looked back at her and smiled. Even though the question was directed at Sam, she decided to answer it. "I don't think they'll be a problem."

Sam and Dean looked at each other in surprise. Sam shrugged and they decided to go with it. They made their way back to the Impala and headed back to the motel. Officially, they agreed to hang around for another day or two just to make sure the asylum really was ghost free but they actually just wanted some sleep.


	6. Glimpses

**First off, I want to apologise for missing Monday's update. I haven't been feeling well lately and couldn't focus on writing. I'll get the next chapter done this weekend so we can resume with the Monday schedule.**

**Secondly, from this point on, we have reached the bit that I warned you about in the first chapter. The Greek gods are going to play a role in this story (more so than just cameo appearances in cases) and there will also be magic involved however since there have been episodes featuring various gods from various religions as well as a fairy and a golem, I am hoping you will at least give this stuff a try. I'm not going overboard with it and I am going to work really hard to keep it in balance. I knew not everyone will like it when I came up with the concept but I do hope you enjoy it.**

**And finally, thank you for the reviews, alerts and favourites.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Glimpses**

Sam, Dean and Karis spent the next day and a half recovering from the events at the asylum. They had all been flung across the room at least once by the ghosts so they had discovered a few new aches and pains and even a few bruises that hadn't been there before. An all-night ghost hunt was pretty exhausting on its own anyway and Sam and Karis were still feeling some side effects from whatever sedative they had been given. It was nothing serious, just a bit of dizziness now and then. Karis' wrists where she had been restrained and fought to get out were much worse. Rather than being just slightly red and a few places where the skin had broken, she now had distinct circles around each wrist that were various shades of blue and red and were very noticeable.

On the morning of the third day after the field trip to the asylum, Dean suggested that they head back to Bobby's place to see if he had any jobs for them but also to check in on him. Sam remained inside the motel room to pack stuff back into their bags and Karis would bring the bags outside to Dean who was waiting beside the Impala. Karis had just brought out her bags and Dean easily put them inside the trunk when she noticed his expression. He had been quiet for a while now and had made no comments – sarcastic or otherwise – and even though it bothered her, Karis guessed that if she asked he would probably get all defensive about it anyway.

As she turned to head back in, Dean suddenly said "Karis."

She looked at him in confusion. "Yeah?"

Dean made sure he was facing her completely and looked like he had been convincing himself of this for a while now. "I want you to punch me."

Karis paused because she had no idea how to react. It was a tempting offer. "What?" she asked, trying to figure out if this was a joke.

"I mean it, Karis. A freebie. I won't even try to block it," Dean promised.

Karis had no idea what was going on. "Why would I want to punch you?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"What is this really about, Dean?" she asked.

He turned away, almost as if he didn't want to talk about it and Karis expected this to be the end of the conversation but, much to her surprise, he actually answered her. "When I found you in the asylum, you mentioned that it was anger management. For that ghost to take you, I figure that's a lot of anger and I'm responsible for at least some of it. I know I deserve it." He turned to face her again. "You're different, Karis. We both are but if I can help get rid of that anger…" He drifted off and then shrugged.

Karis was a bit amused but also surprised by this sudden show of emotion. "And letting me punch you sounds like a good solution?"

"Why not?" he asked.

Karis considered it and couldn't come up with an answer so, rather than punch him, she slapped him across the cheek. It obviously took him by surprise since she had been against the idea a moment before and it did make a satisfactory sound. He flexed his jaw in response and blinked a few times.

"You're right," Karis commented. "That did make me feel better."

"No punch?" Dean asked, having regained his good humour. "I'm disappointed."

"We still need you to drive, remember? I don't want to knock you out cold," Karis answered in an equally amused tone. "Speaking of, I'll go check on Sam."

She headed back towards the motel room as Dean started to pack some of the hunting gear away in the compartment in the trunk. When she walked through the door, she thought the room was empty at first. There was no sign of Sam and she was pretty sure he hadn't left. That was weird.

"Sam?" she called out.

At first, there was no response and then she heard a groan. She took a few steps further into the room and found Sam, lying on the floor between the two beds. He looked pale and his eyes were shut in pain. His hands were clutching at his forehead. Karis immediately rushed to his side and tried to see what was wrong but Sam wouldn't move his hands. She had no idea what to do so she did the first thing that came to mind: she shouted for Dean. Sam continued to grunt in pain. Karis looked up to find Dean coming straight for the door but before he could reach it, it slammed shut. That was definitely not a good sign.

She leant closer to him. "Come on, Sam. Can you hear me?" He didn't respond so she decided that maybe annoying him might get a reaction. "Sammy?"

Dean started beating on the door, trying to force it open with a kick or with his shoulder but the door refused to budge. It took the punishment and didn't even look damaged. Karis was really running out of ideas here and it didn't help that her stuff was already in the Impala's trunk. Before she could move though, Sam was suddenly clutching her wrists in an iron grip that was hurting her. It would have hurt even without the bruises. Something was wrong. It seemed more like Sam was possessed than having a vision which was impossible. Karis knew for a fact that Dean and Sam had the anti-possession tattoos and this wasn't an ordinary possession either.

"Where is she?" Sam demanded angrily.

It took Karis a moment to realise there was something off about his voice because she was too focused on the unsettling look in his eyes. "Who?" she managed. "Sam?"

Sam grunted in frustration and pushed her back. She landed hard on the floor and was trying very hard to figure out what had just happened when the door suddenly flung open. Dean was looking up at another man in confusion. The man was tall with black hair and dressed in a suit with a tie and a brown trench coat. He strode in, barely even glanced at her and knelt beside Sam. Then he placed one finger on Sam's forehead and it was like he found the off switch because Sam was suddenly unconscious on the floor. Karis had been so focused on this stranger that she hadn't noticed Dean's approach but once she did, he helped her to her feet.

"Could someone please tell me what is going on?" Karis asked uneasily.

The stranger turned to face her. "I am Castiel, an angel of the Lord."

How did one greet an angel? "Pleasure to meet you," she said unsurely, choosing a safe option. And then she looked to Dean. "How do you know an angel?"

Before Dean could answer, Castiel interjected. "I raised him from perdition."

Karis frowned at that and then looked to Castiel who didn't strike her as someone with a sense of humour and then looked back at Dean. "You were in Hell?" she asked but it was more curiosity than anything.

Dean looked uncomfortable that she knew. "It's a long story."

"I'll bet," Karis replied and then peered around Castiel. "What about Sam?"

"He is asleep for the moment," Castiel answered. "If I hadn't intervened, it would have killed him. Tread carefully." And after a sound of whooshing wings, Castiel was gone.

"He seems like a fun guy," Karis said as she glanced around the room, still trying to grasp what had just happened.

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "Angels aren't really known for their senses of humour." Then he handed her the car keys. "Help me get Sam into the car."

With some effort, they managed to get Sam into the backseat of the Impala. Riding shotgun made a nice change as Dean decided to stick to the plan. Every now and then, Karis would glance into the back but Sam was still passed out. She also started rubbing her wrists absentmindedly. Sam's grip had been so tight, the bruises were worse now. She kept playing the scene over and over again in her mind, trying to make sense of it. It was so out of character for Sam. Nothing she had read about the Children of Azazel mentioned anything close to what had just happened.

"You handled that well," Dean said quietly.

"Handled what well?" Karis asked.

"Meeting an angel," Dean answered.

She had to smile at that. "Trust me when I say I've met weirder."

"You have?" Dean asked incredulously.

She shrugged. "You know my family history. The Greek gods are still around and from time to time, they show up since my family still…worships them."

"And you aren't going to ask me about it?" Dean asked.

Karis looked at him blankly. "Ask about what? Why Castiel doesn't have a sense of humour?"

"Hell," he answered simply.

She thought about it for a second before she shook her head. "No."

Dean was really confused now. "Why not?"

"Hell isn't something you ask about," Karis explained. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here but I'm not going to ask you anything about it."

He looked at her in surprise and then focused on the road ahead. Karis was curious about how he ended up in Hell and why an angel pulled him out or even how long he was down there for but she also knew that Hell was designed for one thing: to make people suffer. Whatever Dean experienced was designed specifically for him to make sure he suffered as much as he possibly could and that was not something many people would talk about and it was too personal for Karis to ask. It did explain a few things though: why Dean was drinking more, why he didn't seem to sleep as much and why he would get quiet sometimes.

After a while passed in silence, Dean decided to break it. "You look like something's bothering you."

"I keep replaying the motel in my mind," Karis answered. "It was more than just a vision. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was demon possession but he asked me something."

"He did?" Dean asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Karis answered. "He asked me where she is."

"She? She who?"

Karis shrugged. "I have no idea. Castiel showed up just after and found the off switch. But I don't like this."

When Dean didn't comment, she got the distinct feeling that he was keeping something from her. It had happened a lot since they started travelling together and she guessed his time in Hell explained some of these moments but not all of them. And yet, at the same time, she was keeping some things from him too so she couldn't blame him. They had moments when they worked well together but there was still a lot of distance between them and neither of them seemed willing to get closer. The only thing that frustrated Karis more than keeping secrets from each other (since when they were together, there were no secrets between them) was the fact that she was actually thinking about trying. Perhaps she wasn't as over Dean as she had led herself to believe.

Once again, silence followed. There wasn't much else to do besides talk but they both had topics that were off limits which didn't make conversation easy. And Karis was so used to hunting alone now that she kept most of her thoughts to herself and her suspicion that Dean was keeping stuff from her didn't help. Luckily, the silence didn't last long because Karis' cell phone started to ring, playing the main theme from _Indiana Jones_. As she reached for it, she noticed Dean give her a look.

"Really?" he asked in disapproval.

"I have the _Jaws_ theme for you if that makes you feel any better," Karis replied and then answered her phone before Dean could retort. "Hey Dad."

"_Hey, kid,"_ her father replied and Karis could already tell something was wrong.

"You've been talking to Gramps," she guessed.

"_I have but I trust your judgement. If you're hunting with the Winchester boy again, that's your business,"_ her father said.

Karis frowned. "Then what's wrong?"

"_You didn't happen to be in New Jersey recently?"_ he asked.

Karis paused. "We left this morning. Why?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dean give her a concerned look, probably brought upon by the nervous tone of her voice.

"_I got a call from an old friend so I investigated it myself,"_ her father began.

"I don't understand," Karis admitted. It was unusual for her father to be this evasive unless it was bad news.

"_At about noon, there were omens. Serious omens. I don't know what you've gotten yourself into but be careful, kid,"_ he warned.

Karis didn't know how to respond to that. "How serious?" she asked. When her father didn't answer, she fought very hard to keep her voice steady, mostly so Dean wouldn't catch on that she was scared of something. "Dad, how serious?"

"_We don't know which demon is responsible so there's no need to panic just yet,"_ her father reassured calmly. _"But the omens are pretty high on the powerful list. It could be Lilith."_

Karis almost laughed at the fact that they were holding onto the hope that the omens belonged to Lilith but the alternative was not a good thing at all.

"Yeah, maybe," Karis replied flatly, not really holding onto that hope.

Her father must have picked up on that. _"Just be careful, alright? And between you and me, Dean is the only person other than me who will do anything to protect you. And don't say you don't need protection."_

Karis sighed. "I know, Dad."

"_Love you."_

"Love you too," she replied and hung up.

Karis was too unsettled by the news to notice that Dean kept looking at her. If the omens were powerful enough that they were on the same level as Lilith, there was a pretty good chance that the demon that had tortured Karis had clawed his way back up from Hell and that was not something that reassured her. If anything, it was taking all of her self-control to not panic, burst into tears or grab enough salt to make a salt fortress. The demon was too powerful to kill or to send back to Hell forever but she had hoped it would have taken him longer to return to the surface.

"Karis?" Dean asked.

"Hm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Fine," she dismissed but she guessed she didn't fool Dean.

"What did your Dad call about?" he asked.

"There were omens in New Jersey after we left," she answered and she was relieved that her voice was steady.

"What?"

"Maybe whatever happened to Sam was like a giant flare to demons," she suggested and then shrugged. It did sound ridiculous but there didn't seem to be an acceptable explanation for the omens, other than coincidence and hunters typically didn't believe in them.

Dean didn't reply to that and the rest of the drive was made in silence. It was late evening when they finally reached Bobby's house. Dean gave him the quick version since they were both pretty exhausted. Bobby and Dean moved Sam downstairs into Bobby's panic room where they all hoped he would be protected while he rested. Karis got set up on the couch by the window while Dean took the floor. She took a few moments to remind herself that her tattoos would prevent the demon from finding her again and Bobby's house was warded against demons too. Then she closed her eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

It was close to midnight when Dean woke up again. There was enough moonlight in the room to see clearly and the orange glow from the fireplace made it a bit easier. At first, he had no idea what woke him up until he saw Castiel standing in the kitchen, leaning against one of the counters as he always did. Dean got up quietly to make sure he didn't disturb Karis and then walked over to the angel. He was slightly annoyed that Castiel had revealed his time in Hell to Karis but perhaps it was a good thing that she knew about it now. He had been worried about what she would think and how she would react but she had only surprised him yet again.

"Hello Dean," Castiel greeted.

"That was quite the disappearing act you pulled earlier, Cas," Dean commented. "Drop a bombshell and then vanish?"

Castiel seemed to expect this sort of response: a comment that was also a thinly veiled accusation. It used to ruffle his feathers but now, he only looked mildly annoyed and chose not to answer.

Dean sighed quietly, deciding to blame his mood on his exhaustion. "Thank you for saving Sammy."

Castiel looked intrigued and confused by this. "I did not come to rescue Sam."

Dean frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

Castiel walked into the living room where Karis was sleeping on the couch. It was obvious almost immediately that she was having a bad dream – Dean knew her well enough to know by now but this one seemed even worse than normal. Castiel gently reached out and touched her forehead, just as he had done with Sam. Her face immediately relaxed. And then Dean noticed her wrists. They were much worse than they had been at the asylum. Castiel had noticed it too.

"She didn't tell you because she didn't want you to worry," Castiel commented.

"Tell me what?" Dean demanded. He was getting tired of a conversation where Cas didn't say anything.

"Sam was not entirely himself," Castiel answered.

Dean tried to figure out what that meant. "Wait. You're saying Sammy did this?"

"He grabbed her, yes," Castiel answered and reached out to her wrists. A moment later, they were completely healed. "She understands that it was not Sam so she didn't want to concern you."

Dean suddenly realised what Cas meant. "You're saying you came to the motel room to protect Karis from Sam?"

Castiel straightened and turned to face Dean. "Yes. I don't fully understand what is going on right now but I do have my orders. Karis is to be protected…by you."

"By me?" Dean repeated in disbelief. "Why can't you do it?"

Castiel was silent as he tried to figure out how best to explain it. "It's out of my jurisdiction."

"What does that even mean?"

Castiel looked up at the ceiling as if he could hear something. "Our time grows short, Dean. Whatever is going on, Karis has an important role to play and you need to keep her safe."

"I don't know what you know about her but Karis doesn't need a babysitter and she hates it," Dean pointed out. "Besides, I'm probably the last person on Earth she wants protecting her."

"Make it work, Dean," Castiel ordered and then vanished.

Dean stood there for a few more minutes. Every time Castiel dropped in for an unexpected visit, Dean was always left with more questions than answers. He looked over at Karis. How did she fit into all of this? And why would Castiel need to rescue her from Sam? Dean shook his head in annoyance and decided to go back to sleep. Maybe things would look clearer in the morning.

When Dean woke up again, it was morning and much to his surprise, he woke up to the smell of bacon, scrambled eggs and toast. In confusion, he slowly sat up and peered into the kitchen. Karis was actually cooking breakfast. He guessed she had already showered because she had changed her clothes and her hair was loose. Then he realised Bobby was sitting behind his desk, giving Dean a look that he had no idea how to read.

"What?" Dean asked.

"You're not filling her head with ideas, are you?" Bobby asked.

"What? No!"

As soon as Bobby was satisfied with that answer, Dean filled him in on Castiel's visit and included all of the details, even retelling him what had happened in the motel room. Bobby was silent for a long moment.

"That doesn't sound like one of Sam's previous visions," he said at last.

"And those were scary enough," Dean replied. "Now we have demonic possession, a random girl and omens too. I don't know what to do, Bobby." He ran his hand over his face unconsciously. "Is Sam up yet?"

Bobby shook his head. "I went to check on him when I got up but he's still out." He then nodded in the direction of the kitchen. "You going to tell her?"

"Tell her what? That the angels have decided she needs protection and they chose me?" Dean asked quietly. He didn't want her to overhear.

"She's not going to like it," Bobby stated.

"Which is why I'm not going to tell her," Dean replied.

Bobby summoned his most disapproving look. "Don't you think you two have enough secrets?"

It was at that moment that Karis walked in and handed them plates of food. It was probably the best breakfast he had ever seen. Sometimes, he forgot that Karis enjoyed cooking since they rarely had the time to cook their own food.

"So, Dean tells me you met Castiel," Bobby said.

Karis retrieved her own plate and sat down. "Yeah."

"And?" Bobby pressed.

She shrugged. "Underwhelming."

"You meet an angel of the Lord and you're underwhelmed?" Bobby asked in surprise.

Karis swallowed her mouthful of food. "He wasn't as…smite-y as I was expecting." When she saw their expressions, she explained. "Once you meet Zeus, no one else compares. During a rant about the good ol' days when sheep were sacrificed to him and the Greek armies slew their enemies in his name, he short circuited the house. It took my grandfather, my father and I a week to get everything working again. Since Castiel didn't threaten me or insult me…underwhelming."

"Then you should meet Uriel," Dean commented. "He enjoys smiting."

"Sounds like a good time," Karis replied.

Bobby then gave Dean a meaningful look while Karis was distracted by her food.

"Cas stopped by last night," Dean began.

"I figured as much," she said and when she noticed his surprised expression, she raised her wrists in answer.

"He said Sam did that to you," Dean continued.

Karis didn't respond immediately. "Nothing about that makes sense."

"What doesn't make sense?" Sam asked groggily from the doorway.

"Sammy, you're up," Dean said.

"How are you feeling, son?" Bobby asked.

"Not good," Sam answered.

Dean hadn't even noticed Karis get up until she helped Sam over to the couch and gave him a plate of food too.

"Eat," she ordered.

Sam complied and ate a bit. "How long was I out?"

Karis looked at her watch. "Roughly twenty four hours."

Sam did not look good. He was pale and shaky and Dean could recognise that he had a seriously bad headache. The headaches always followed the visions but everything else was new. Castiel would have only knocked him out for a few hours so this vision really must have taken its toll on Sam. They finished eating in silence and Sam looked a little bit stronger but not by much. They also gave him a brief description of what happened in the motel room although Karis left out the part where he grabbed her and then pushed her. Dean didn't know why she was doing it but he knew it wasn't for him. Perhaps she had known Sam long enough to figure he would take it hard. Dean included the part where Castiel intervened and mentioned that the vision would have killed Sam otherwise.

"Do you remember any of this?" Karis asked gently.

"Just bits and pieces," Sam admitted quietly.

"What about the vision?" Dean pressed.

Sam was thinking about it. "Just glimpses. A house or maybe a shop. I don't know. But there was a young woman. It happened so fast and nothing was very clear."

"A young woman?" Karis repeated. "Can you describe her?"

Sammy was definitely thinking hard. "She was probably about your age. Her hair was blonde and her eyes were blue or turquoise, I think. It happened so fast."

Karis started digging through her bag, much to everyone's confusion. She brought out the journal and took a photo out from the inside cover and handed it to Sam. It was too far for Dean to see but she pointed at one of the figures. "Could this be her?"

Sam frowned and then looked down at the photo. He was concentrating very hard. "It could be, maybe a bit older than the picture."

He then passed the photo to Dean. There were two figures in it: young girls, probably no older than sixteen, in bikinis and playing a game of volleyball. They were on the beach and if he had to guess, he would have said it was in Crete because the girl on the left he immediately recognised as Karis. She was laughing and looked so full of life, the photo had to have been taken just before she started hunting. The girl next to her he didn't know. He passed the photo back and noticed Karis' expression. She was distracted and nervous about something.

"Who is she?" Sam asked.

"Her name is Elanna Cassidy," Karis answered. "We've been best friends since we were ten."

"Where is she?"

"I honestly have no idea," Karis replied and carefully put the photo back in the journal. "I haven't seen her or heard from her in two years."

"Two years?" Dean repeated. "That doesn't worry you?"

Karis shook her head. "No. Demons have been hunting her for her entire life. After…" She drifted off, apparently unable to finish the sentence.

Dean looked over to Bobby, wondering if this was what he had mentioned and when the older man nodded, Dean looked back to Karis. "You don't have to tell us." Even though he was really curious and really wanted to know what she had been through, Karis had been understanding about his time in Hell. He could do no less for her.

"Since I know you went Hell, it's only fair that I tell you. Three years ago, a demon caught me," Karis explained and it was pretty clear she was fighting very hard to keep her emotions in check. "He was a powerful son of a bitch and held me prisoner for almost a month. Elanna…well, she blamed herself that I ended up on the demon's radar so once Bobby, Dad and Gramps rescued me, she hung around just long enough to make sure it wouldn't happen again and then she disappeared."

Dean could tell there was more to the story than that but he wasn't about to press the subject. He also found himself hating demons more than he already did.

"Why are demons after her?" Sam asked.

Karis didn't answer immediately. "I'm sorry, Sam. That isn't my secret to tell."

Sam was obviously disappointed but he could also understand. "So…what? This demon is using me to find her?"

"It looks that way," Bobby agreed. "The question is: why? Ellie's been dealing with demons her whole life. Why would a demon resort to this now? Yellow Eyes never had any interest in her."

Dean looked at Karis. "Do you think you can find her?"

"I promised her I wouldn't look," Karis said and then sighed. "I need some air." Without another word, she walked outside and Dean really considered going after her but if she needed air, she also needed some time alone.

"What was that about?" Sam asked and seemed uncharacteristically annoyed about it. It wasn't often that Dean was the one with empathy and Sam wasn't.

"Karis takes promises very seriously, Sam," Bobby explained. "If she's considering breaking a promise she made to her oldest friend, she's going to need some time."

* * *

Karis was sitting on the hood of her car. Bobby had parked it in one of the sheds he used to work on cars so it was out of the way but still protected from the elements. She was leaning against the windscreen and staring at the photograph she had shown Sam. The only reason why she suspected it had been Elanna in the first place was the mention of her unusual eye colour. That was the last holiday she had taken since she started hunting but it was also the best. Two weeks in Crete during the summer with her best friend and her siblings. Things had seemed so easy back then. No boy problems to deal with, no demons. Just sunny beaches, good company and a lot of fun.

She had no idea how long she had been outside for until Dean walked over and handed her a beer. He had one too and once she took the beer from him, he casually leant against her car. She couldn't help but think what a pair they made. Dean spent some time in Hell and she was tortured by a demon for a month. And then there was Sam who was receiving visions from a demon. She had to snort at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Remember the days when our biggest concern was ghosts and not demons?" she asked and slowly sat up.

"Never thought I would miss the days of homicidal spirits," Dean agreed. He took the photo from her. "I didn't know you played volleyball."

She smiled. "I don't. That was the first and only time I played and I was rubbish at it."

He looked at her sceptically. "Really?"

"Apparently if it isn't trying to kill me then I have no idea what to do," she commented, still smiling.

Dean gave her the photo back. "What are you planning on doing?"

Karis turned serious and sighed. "When I made her that promise, we didn't really take this into account. Whatever is happening, it isn't good and we have no idea what it is. Maybe Elanna can help us figure it out."

"Do you have any idea where to start looking for her?" he asked.

Karis drank some beer and shook her head. "No. Elanna is very good at hiding and she trusts very few people and my family are the only hunters she trusts. The people she trusts…well, they don't take kindly to hunters." She paused. "If we're going to look for her, we have to tread very carefully."

"We'll follow your lead," Dean promised.

She smiled at that and already felt less guilty about breaking her promise. Dean helped her down and they headed back up to Bobby's house. Now all she had to do was figure out was where to begin.


	7. Detours

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the others and I am sorry about that. I hurt my hand on Saturday while horse riding and even though it isn't serious, it still hurts when I type. I'll make up the word count along the way.**

**I've also noticed a decline in reviews after the last few chapters and I am hoping this isn't because I have lost readers. Any feedback would be appreciated.**

**This chapter includes Missouri Mosely from Season 1 Episode 9 **_**Home**_**. I hope I got her character right.**

**And thank you for the alerts and favourites.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Detours**

Karis was sitting at Bobby's kitchen table with her laptop out and her journal beside her. Since she had agreed to look for Elanna, she hadn't moved from that table. Bobby and Dean alternated between looking in on Sam who was still weak from the vision and searching for cases that were nearby. The latter was more so they could keep themselves busy. Karis had decided that if she was going to break her promise then she had to do it on her own. Besides, she had no idea how to explain anything about Elanna without having Elanna there to back her up. And even if Karis did find her, she was pretty sure Elanna would prefer to stay out of it.

She had made a few phone calls and had done some research on the internet and after a few hours, she still had nothing. Elanna was scary good at hiding in plain sight and enough time had passed that Karis wasn't even sure if she was using her old tricks again or if she was using new tricks Karis knew nothing about. So much time had passed that Karis hadn't even noticed when it got dark. She closed her eyes out of frustration and to think and accidently fell asleep. It wasn't until Dean came in to check on her the next morning that she woke up again. He looked like he was trying to hide his amusement so she figured she had a few keys from her keyboard imprinted on her forehead.

"You've been at this all night?" he asked as he tried to look like he wasn't smirking.

Karis stifled a yawn and rubbed her forehead to try to get rid of the imprint. "Apparently. How's Sam doing?"

Dean immediately turned serious. "Pretty much the same. The visions he had a few weeks before this one didn't take as much out of him."

"I'm also assuming these previous visions didn't involve an angelic intervention either," Karis guessed.

"I don't know what's wrong with him," Dean admitted quietly and sat down in the chair next to her.

"We'll figure it out," Karis reassured. She wanted to ask if there was something he was keeping from her about Sam but since they were getting along so well recently, she didn't want to push her luck. Besides, moments where Dean showed his vulnerabilities were rare enough when they were dating but now he didn't even hesitate. It just didn't seem like the time to go looking for a fight. But when she looked up again, she could tell Dean wanted to ask her something. "What?"

"That demon you mentioned yesterday. It did more than just keep you prisoner," he said.

Karis looked down at the table. This was her least favourite topic of discussion. "When do demons ever just take prisoners?" she asked rhetorically.

"Then why didn't you give up hunting?" he asked and it was definitely out of curiosity.

"I did, for a time. Of course, it was involuntary," Karis admitted. She also hated talking about her moments of weakness. "When I was discharged from the hospital and taken home, I made a circle of salt and couldn't leave it. I couldn't leave my room." She took a steadying breath as she recalled those days very clearly. "But it just got to a point where I decided I was tired of being scared, tired of running away from it so I started hunting again. It was more to prove to myself that I could and then…" She shrugged. "You know how it goes. Most hunters can't get away from the life."

"Have you ever thought about it?" he asked.

Karis was taken off guard, not by the question but the way he asked it, like he had given it some serious thought which was strange because when they were together, any suggestions of living a normal life were usually mocked. He loved hunting but she also figured there was more to it than that, namely that he wouldn't know where to begin with a normal life. He had been on the road since he was a kid and didn't have much of an ordinary childhood. Now, it sounded like something Dean really wanted or, at the very least, he was seriously considering it. Perhaps his time in Hell had affected him more than he let on.

"Once," she answered.

Dean seemed surprised by that. "You did?"

She nodded her head slowly. "Yeah. It was after that poltergeist job in Chicago."

They had worked the case when they were still dating. A young family – a recently married couple and their five year old son – had moved into the wrong house. The poltergeist had been really angry but Karis and Dean had arrived before anyone was hurt. Dean connected almost immediately with the young boy and seeing how good he was with kids had gotten Karis thinking about the future, not that she ever let on that she was thinking about it. With the family's help, they managed to get rid of the poltergeist. It was about a month or so after that case that Dean disappeared on her. Karis could tell that Dean knew exactly which case she was talking about and his expression showed it.

"But people change," she added after a long pause. This comment wasn't only directed at Dean but at herself too.

Dean looked like he wanted to say something but was cut off when Bobby walked in. "Sam's awake," he announced.

Karis couldn't tell if Dean was just using this as an excuse to get away or if his concern for his brother simply overrode this conversation. Either way, he left the kitchen very quickly, leaving Karis alone with Bobby. Bobby watched her closely for a few moments before taking Dean's recently vacated seat.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

Karis shrugged. "I have no idea."

"You don't have to break your promise, simply because Dean asked you to," Bobby reminded.

Karis wasn't entirely sure how to react to that statement. "You think that's the only reason why I'm doing this?"

Bobby leant back in his chair. "You and Dean were together for a long time; longer than most hunters. And I know how you felt about him. Those kinds of feelings don't just disappear."

She was silent for a moment. It was easy to forget how perceptive Bobby could be sometimes. "Dean isn't the only reason why I'm doing this. What Sam is going through… well, it's unnerving. Elanna might have answers and if someone is after her for more than the usual reasons, she deserves to know." She paused again. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Bobby replied.

"Things have been weird lately… well, weirder and now Dean tells me he was in Hell and an angel pulled him out; an angel that still hangs around," Karis said. "Is there something going on? And I don't mean with Dean. Angels haven't appeared on Earth in... ages."

Bobby's expression turned grim. "There's a war going on, the angels versus the demons. The demons are trying to break the seals and the angels are trying to stop them. Castiel has asked for Sam and Dean's help in stopping a few seals from being broken."

"The seals?" Karis repeated. "As in, 'break the sixty sixth seal and Lucifer walks free' seals?"

Bobby nodded his head. Well, that certainly explained a lot. The number of demon possessions had increased a lot recently as did weird disappearances which could probably be linked to angels finding their vessels. Bobby decided to go downstairs to check on the boys again. She really did miss the days when angry ghosts were a hunter's main problem, instead of demons and the apocalypse. She decided to focus on finding Elanna again and was running out of ideas until she glanced at her laptop's screen. The internet browser was open on a news website and the top story had happened in a particular state, giving Karis an idea.

She hurriedly packed her stuff away, put on her boots and then her jacket. Now that she had something that resembled a plan, she wanted to put it into action. A quick glance around the kitchen didn't reveal her car keys so she headed downstairs to ask Bobby. As she approached, she could hear all three of them arguing about something. She couldn't make out any words, aside from a name – Ruby – and they immediately fell silent when they heard her approach. Sam was looking a little bit better but he was still pale and shaky and he just looked exhausted.

"Did you find something?" Bobby asked and tried to hide his own annoyance.

"Not really," Karis answered. "But I do need my keys."

"Where are you going?" Sam asked.

Karis hesitated before answering. "Lawrence." She knew how the Winchesters felt about going back to their home town.

"Lawrence?" Dean repeated and it was really difficult to read his emotions.

"Yes," she answered. "There's a psychic there that might be able to help but I have to go in person."

"You're talking about Missouri," Sam guessed.

"I am," Karis agreed and then she turned to face Bobby. "Keys?"

"I'll show you," Bobby answered and led her back upstairs.

Her keys were in the top drawer of his desk and he handed them to her without a word. She was about to head out when Dean walked in.

"I'm going with you," he decided.

Karis exchanged a look with Bobby. "I can't ask you to do that, Dean."

"You don't have to," he replied.

The argument with Sam must have really ticked him off. "If you're sure but I'm driving my car." When he gave her a look, she shrugged. "After been stuck in the back of your car for the last few weeks, I really want to be in the driver's seat for a change."

"Fine," Dean replied and stalked off to get his things.

Karis watched him go and then looked at Bobby. "He's in a mood."

"It's not your fault," Bobby reassured.

Karis wasn't entirely convinced but she chose not to argue. They spent some time packing everything into her car and then Dean went to explain to Sam that he was going with her. When he returned, his mood was even worse so Karis chose to believe Bobby. She also pointed out that she didn't know how long this trip would take and shortly thereafter, she and Dean were back on the road. It felt good to be behind the wheel again but she could tell something was really bothering Dean since he hadn't made a comment about her choice in music as it wasn't classic rock.

Karis glanced in his direction and then refocused on the road ahead. Dean was staring out the passenger window and he looked pissed. Under different circumstances, Karis would have asked if he was alright but she had no idea how he would react to the question so she remained silent. This silence lasted for a few hours and Karis couldn't help but wonder if Dean had fallen asleep because she had never seen him this quiet for so long. She figured that if he wanted to talk about whatever was bothering him, he would start the conversation although she had never known him to talk about his feelings.

When he seemed less annoyed, Karis decided to check. "Is everything okay?"

"No," Dean answered shortly.

"Okay then," Karis replied in a tone that let him know she was not at all pleased at being snapped at and focused on driving again.

He sighed after a moment. "Sammy and I had an argument, alright?"

"Alright," she answered, still not favouring that tone of his.

After a few moments, he must have realised that she was annoyed with him. "Sorry."

At first, she didn't say anything. "I've known you for a long time, Dean, and I think that's the first time I've ever heard you apologise."

"Well, I'm annoyed with Sam, not you," he replied as if that explained everything.

"This argument wouldn't happen to be the reason why you volunteered to come with me?" she asked.

"It might have something to do with it," he admitted evasively.

Karis raised an eyebrow. "Good chat," she murmured under her breath.

* * *

Dean's mood hadn't improved much when they reached Lawrence, Kansas, and Karis figured being back in his home town wouldn't help either. She found Missouri's house without a problem and parked the car. They headed inside and once they realised Missouri was busy with a client, they took a seat on one of the couches and waited. Karis relaxed into the couch and idly looked around the room. Not much had changed since the last time she was here. And then she noticed Dean was fidgeting and just couldn't get comfortable. It was strange and amusing to see Dean look nervous and uncomfortable.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Missouri just makes me uncomfortable," he admitted quietly.

Karis had to smile at that. "So, just don't think about anything."

Dean looked at her in complete confusion. "What?"

Before Karis could explain further, Missouri escorted her client out and then turned to face them, immediately smiling when she saw Karis. "Karis, so good to see you again, dear."

Karis and Dean both got to their feet. "It's good to see you too, Missouri."

"Dean," Missouri greeted and then led them into the next room. When he sat down, she gave him a warning look and then glanced between them. "I always knew you two would get together."

In the hopes of avoiding an awkward conversation, Karis tried to sound more or less casual about it. "Oh, we're not together anymore."

Missouri immediately focused on Dean. "What did you do to this poor girl?"

Dean's look was very similar to a deer caught in headlights and Karis really fought hard to not burst out laughing. After letting him suffer for a moment, she interjected. "I came to ask you for a favour, Missouri." She felt Dean relax beside her the moment Missouri looked in her direction.

"A favour?" Missouri echoed. "What kind of favour?"

"I need to find Elanna," Karis answered. "And right now you're my best shot."

Missouri regarded her for a moment. "This is more than just idle curiosity, isn't it?"

Karis nodded. "Unfortunately. We haven't figured everything out yet but we're pretty certain Elanna is crucial and I don't want her in danger… well, more danger than usual."

Missouri then looked back at Dean. "This involves Sam. Why didn't you bring him with you?" Even though Dean didn't say anything, his expression shifted and then Missouri's look softened. "I'm so sorry, Dean. Your family has suffered enough."

Karis guessed Missouri knew about Hell and whatever the argument between Sam and Dean had been about but she didn't ask. Missouri then looked at her with that piercing gaze of hers.

"You two have a lot more in common than you realise," Missouri observed.

They couldn't help but share a look and then look back at Missouri.

"Does this mean you'll help us?" Karis asked, trying very hard to hide her discomfit.

"I'll make some calls," Missouri decided. "But I can't guarantee that I'll find anything. Elanna doesn't get found unless she wants to be found."

"Thank you," Karis replied. "I would appreciate anything you could do."

Missouri smiled and then settled her gaze on Dean. "You better take this pretty girl to lunch, Dean." And then she looked back at Karis. "I'll call you when I have something."

They said their thanks and headed out to a local café to grab some lunch. Karis and Dean didn't talk at first. Missouri's insights had made things a bit awkward between them even though they were both trying to hide it. A short amount of time had passed when Dean's phone rang. He answered it and he immediately looked concerned.

"Bobby? What happened? He did what? Are you alright?" He sighed in frustration. "Don't bother, Bobby. He made his decision. No, Karis and I are still waiting. You too." And then he hung up.

Bobby was obviously alright otherwise Dean would have left the café and driven off before anyone realised he was gone but Karis was still worried. About Bobby, about Sam and about Dean.

"What happened to Bobby?" she asked delicately.

"Sam didn't want to be cooped up in the panic room anymore and knocked him out before taking my car and leaving," Dean answered in an annoyed tone.

Karis idly tapped a finger against the side of her cup of coffee, trying to figure out how to handle this conversation. "Do you want to take my car and go after him? I can wait for Missouri."

Dean shook his head, still looking down at his food. "I'd rather be around someone I can trust."

Karis paused as she let that statement sink in. It was weird to know that after everything he still trusted her. It was a surprise to find out he trusted her with Sam's life but this was on another level entirely. On the other hand, did that mean Dean didn't trust Sam? That was another odd thing to hear. The way other hunters had spoken about them led Karis to believe they had been inseparable. That wouldn't happen without trust. And not being able to trust family was not a good sign. Dean looked up expectantly, like he was wondering why Karis hadn't replied to this statement.

"Let me get this straight: you trust your ex-girlfriend you haven't seen in five years more than you trust your brother?"

"I do," Dean answered. When she continued to look at him in confusion, he put his knife and fork down and turned very serious. "Since I got back from Hell, it's like I don't even know him anymore. It was only four months and it's like he's a completely different person."

"Losing family does change people, Dean, especially when you know where they're going," Karis pointed out.

"It's more than just that," Dean explained. "He's gotten close to a demon, Ruby, and she's gotten him to drink demon blood to enhance his abilities or whatever."

"What abilities?" Karis asked with a frown. The plural definitely worried her. "I thought it was just the premonitions."

"I saw him send a demon back to Hell with his mind," Dean continued. "And it scares me, Karis."

She was silent for a long moment, processing. "Why didn't you tell me before?" It wasn't an accusation but if Sam was willingly drinking demon blood – aside from being all kinds of gross – it might explain why his visions were much stronger.

"Sam promised me he had stopped," Dean answered. "And I believed him. He looked me in the eye and lied right to my face."

"And now you think he went off to find this Ruby?" Karis asked.

"He doesn't have any other reason to knock Bobby unconscious."

"I'm sorry, Dean," she said genuinely.

"Sam knows exactly how I feel about this and he did it anyway," Dean added. "So let's just focus on finding your friend and we can worry about Sam later."

Karis was tempted to take his hand as a gesture of comfort but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. "I'm surprised you haven't killed Ruby yet."

"Sam trusts her," Dean replied. "But I have considered it."

Given her recent experiences with demons, she was probably biased but she had never heard of a demon helping people. It went against their nature so she fully agreed with Dean's reaction to the situation. While still a prisoner, she had promised herself that if she survived, she would kill every demon she crossed paths with but she figured if anyone was going to kill Ruby, it would be Dean. It was also at that moment that she realised Dean had just told her how long he was in Hell for: four months. That was a long time to be in Hell, especially since time flowed differently down there. It was impressive that Dean was holding up this well.

They finished their lunch and then returned to Missouri's house. She was waiting for them but she did not look very happy. They took their seats and Karis was definitely interested to hear what she had found out but she was also worried.

"I made some calls, just as I promised and I found out a few things," Missouri began. "Elanna is in New Orleans, posing as a fortune teller."

"Hiding in plain sight," Karis guessed. "That sounds like her."

Missouri nodded in agreement. "I didn't get a name though. You'll have to figure that part yourselves."

"What else did you find out?" Dean asked.

Missouri sighed. "You're not the only ones looking for her. Demons have put out a bounty on her and the impression I got is that the demon in charge is really powerful and evil. Some hunters are also looking for her but I don't know why. And there was another young man."

"What's so interesting about him?" Karis asked.

"He's been using your name to look for Elanna," Missouri answered. "His name is Tharin Dinos. Do you know him?"

Karis groaned in annoyance. "Of course it's Tharin."

"So that's a yes?" Dean asked.

"Yes, I know Tharin," Karis clarified. "His family is like mine: a line of hunters that can be traced back to Ancient Greece and still follows Olympus. He's a good hunter but really arrogant. Last I heard, he was in London."

"That's all I know," Missouri said.

"Thank you, Missouri," Karis replied.

They said their goodbyes and walked back to the car. It was going to be a long drive to New Orleans and now that she knew Tharin was involved, she was liking the situation less and less.


	8. New Orleans

**Sorry for missing last week's update. My hand was really sore and I couldn't type for very long without it hurting so I decided to take some time and let it heal. It seems to be doing better now but we'll see.**

**On a side note, I've realised I do seem to be creating a few OCs – more than I was originally planning – so if there is a character from the series you would like to see make an appearance, let me know (via PM or review, I'm not fussy) and I'll see what I can do, from Seasons 1 - 4. We have already had the Ghostfacers and Missouri Mosely after all.**

**Thank you very much for the reviews. I am glad to hear that you're still enjoying the story. I also appreciate the favourites and the alerts so thanks for those as well.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: New Orleans**

"So, who is this Tharin Dinos?" Dean asked.

They were about half a day's drive out from New Orleans and they had decided to stop and grab something to eat. Dean had ordered his usual cheeseburger whereas Karis decided to go for something different and ordered steak and chips. She looked up from her plate of food. Since leaving Missouri's house, the topic of Sam had not come up once but Dean was suddenly very interested in discussing her personal life which was getting a bit annoying. The idea that Sam willingly drank demon blood was just so creepy that Karis was kind of relieved that they hadn't spoken more about it, which made her feel guilty which was the only reason why she was humouring Dean.

"I told you already," she answered. "He's a hunter, like me."

Dean peered at her over the top of his burger. "Did you two…date?"

Karis was about to point out that it really wasn't any of his business because she knew all about his reputation and guessed he had slept with a lot of women since their break up…when she realised this was not just an idle question to pass the time.

"Hang on, are you jealous?" she asked with a smirk.

Dean shifted uncomfortably and focused on eating his burger again. "No."

"Then does it matter?" she asked, still quite amused.

"I suppose not," Dean answered.

Silence followed as they continued to eat their food and Karis wondered how long it would take for him to ask again. Dean wasn't the kind of person to let things go. It was a useful quirk to have when working a case or getting information together but when it came to prying into other people's personal lives, it was a pretty irritating quirk so Karis decided that if Dean did decide to push his luck, she wasn't going to make it easy on him.

After a few more minutes of silence, Dean decided to ask again. "So…did you?"

Karis knew exactly what he was talking about but she decided to play dumb. "Did I what?" she asked with a perfectly blank expression, something she had mastered to deal with police.

"Did you date him?" Dean asked and he was starting to get impatient.

"Who?" When he just gave her an annoyed look in response, she smiled. "Sorry, Dean. Sometimes you make it too easy."

"Are you planning on answering the question?"

"No," she answered and then decided to clarify. "We did not date. One self-absorbed hunter was enough for me."

Dean looked oddly pleased with her answer, until he realised that she had insulted him. "I am not self-absorbed."

Karis was about to drink some beer but paused and smirked again. "Who said I was talking about you?"

He had to smile at that. "Touché."

She put her beer down again after taking a sip. "If we're lucky, we won't even cross paths with him."

"Since when are we lucky?" Dean interjected.

With a smile, she continued. "But if we do, there are a few things I should probably warn you about. He got the idea in his head that since our families are among the remaining few who still follow Olympus, it obviously means we're destined to belong together and I'm just being stubborn about it."

Dean's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "What?"

Karis shrugged. "I have no idea where that belief came from considering I have zero interest in the guy."

"He sounds like a charmer," Dean commented. "What else?"

"He's also on some quest to prove to the gods that he's a hero worthy of Hercules' legend, despite the fact that Hercules was a demigod and Tharin is mortal and it really doesn't work like that," Karis explained. "I think he's nuts but because of this, he tends to rush in, shoot first and ask questions later to show he has no fear and is brave and doesn't back down from a challenge."

Dean looked at her in disbelief. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Karis shook her head. "Unfortunately not."

"Anything else I should know?" he asked.

Karis thought about it for a second. "Nothing I can think of, aside from the obvious. If he's looking for Elanna too, it isn't a good sign and if he's using my name, he's probably looking for me too."

"Any reason why he would be looking for you?" Dean asked.

"It's been a while since I last saw him," Karis answered. "I have no idea what he wants, especially since he's a solo act." When Dean gave her a confused look, she sighed. "Tharin doesn't like sharing the glory or his idea of the gods' favour."

"He sounds like a real piece of work."

"You have no idea," Karis replied.

Once they finished their food and paid the bill, they resumed the drive to New Orleans. Dean was driving for a change, mostly because he was getting fidgety in the passenger seat and started to fiddle with her radio settings so Karis had agreed to swap for a while. As far as she could tell, Dean was actually enjoying driving her car but she didn't mention it. Instead, she was looking through newspaper articles and business listings, trying to figure out which fortune teller was Elanna. This was easier said than done since New Orleans was pretty popular with witchcraft, voodoo, hoodoo and various other kinds of fortune telling. With Mardi Gras around the corner, it didn't help either since everyone was getting excited and more of the occult was being brought in for the celebration.

"Any luck?" Dean asked when they arrived in New Orleans.

Karis rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Not really." She looked at her watch. It was still early evening. "I don't think any shops would be open now anyway."

Dean agreed and he found a motel pretty quickly. Once they were checked in, Karis was just grateful for a bed that she didn't even mind that she was sharing a single room with Dean. There weren't many other options anyway since most motels were fully booked. As soon as they were settled in, Karis decided to go to bed and fell asleep almost immediately, much to Dean's amusement. When she woke up the next morning, she found that Dean was already awake and doing research. He glanced at his phone, pulled a face and then focused on the newspapers in front of him again. Karis guessed he was worried about Sam and was checking to see if he had any messages from his brother.

Karis remained in bed for another few minutes before she decided it was time to get up. With some effort, she climbed out of bed and sat down opposite Dean, curiously examining a few of the newspapers. He had found a few personal adverts for fortune tellers and the like but he had only circled the local ones. Before she looked closer at the names, a recent headline caught her eye and she pulled the newspaper closer. _Local man saved from his deathbed. Doctors unable to explain miraculous recovery._ Karis quickly scanned through the contents of the article and frowned.

Dean glanced up and immediately noticed her expression. "Did you find something?"

"Maybe," she answered and passed the article to him.

When he was finished reading it, he looked at her incredulously. "Your friend can save people from certain death?"

"It's hard to explain," Karis answered. "But yes. And no, she isn't an angel or a demon before you ask."

Dean was silent for a moment. "And what makes you think this was her?"

"He fits her type: an honest man, gives back to the community, good ties to his family," Karis explained. "Elanna only saves those she believes will make the world a better place."

"So she decides who lives and who dies?" Dean asked angrily.

Karis sighed, trying to figure out a better way to explain it but since he hadn't met Elanna before, it was really difficult to find the appropriate words. "Just have an open mind, Dean. That's all I ask."

He was silent for a few long moments. "Fine but I'm not promising anything."

For hunters, anyone or anything with that kind of power was dangerous and it usually came with a price tag. Demons needed a person's soul and Reapers – if controlled by very powerful spells – could only divert life and death between two people: a life for a life. Karis could understand Dean's caution but she also knew Elanna. The article was the best lead they had at the moment so Karis had a quick shower and got changed. With a bit of internet searching, they were able to find the address of the miraculous survivor, a Mr Frank Harper. They pulled up to the house a short while later and noticed they weren't the only visitors.

Small groups of people were entering and exiting the house and there were a lot of cars parked outside. A few people who went inside were carrying plates of food. Karis was somewhat confused. It could have something to do with Mardi Gras, such as family and friends stopping by for a friendly visit or people were coming to see if the miracle had really happened and wanted to know all the details. Since no one was being turned away as far as Karis could tell, she figured they may as well give it a try. Dean was less than impressed but he didn't argue with her which caught her by surprise.

They walked inside together and were quite startled to see so many people standing around inside the house. The house itself was a little slice of suburbia cliché and was not intended to have enough room for so many people so the guests were spread throughout the kitchen, living area, dining room and some were even on the back porch. It was amazing how miraculously recovering from certain death made someone an instant celebrity. Karis finally pushed her way into the living room and immediately recognised Frank Harper from the newspaper article. Even though he had been 'cured', he still hadn't recovered completely.

He had a thin frame but it didn't look sickly as he had in the newspaper clipping and his skin was still pale from being cooped up inside for so long. His grey hair was slowly starting to grow back. All in all, Mr Harper looked like someone making a healthy recovery. The woman sitting beside him – his wife, presumably – was holding his hands tightly in her own as if she were afraid that the moment she let go that she would wake from a dream. It was also quite obvious from a distance that she did not appreciate so many people coming into her home.

"Can I help you with something?" a young woman asked. Judging from her facial features and the way she just looked happy to be here, this must have been Frank's daughter.

"We're sorry for just turning up uninvited," Karis apologised.

The young woman smiled. "I think that would make you the first one here to apologise for it. My name's Alice."

"I'm Karis and this is Dean," she introduced and then subtly elbowed Dean in the side to make him smile politely.

"I'm assuming you're here to speak to my father?" Alice asked.

"We are but not for the reasons you'd think," Karis answered and she decided to go for the truth… or at least the parts that wouldn't make her sound crazy. "I'm looking for an old friend and I think your father may have met her."

Alice was silent for a moment. "He did meet with a lot of people over the past few months."

"Did he seek alternative treatment or healing?" Karis asked.

Alice nodded her head slowly. "He and Mom tried everything." She glanced over her shoulder and then looked back at Karis. "Wait here. I'll go see if he knows anything."

She hurried off and disappeared among the various people before resurfacing beside her father.

Karis looked over to Dean and recognised his expression. "You think I shouldn't have told her the truth."

"The more people who know, the more difficult it will be to find her," he pointed out irritably.

"I know," Karis agreed. "But do you really think they would open up if we pretended to be journalists or FBI agents?"

The question was rhetorical to make a point so she didn't expect an answer. As they waited, Mr Harper suddenly got to his feet and left the room. A few moments later, Alice appeared at Karis' side again.

"My father has agreed to speak with you," Alice explained. "Follow me please."

Karis gave Dean a 'you see' look and he returned it with a look that said 'don't push your luck'. They followed Alice in silence until they reached a small study, one of the few places that didn't have random people hanging around. Mr Harper was seated behind the large wooden desk. Once Dean and Karis stepped into the room, Alice closed the door and left. Mr Harper then indicated the chairs opposite him. Karis and Dean hesitantly took their seats. Talking in a room away from witnesses usually didn't bode well but Karis tried to look like she was not at all nervous since it was her fault they were here right now.

"My daughter told me you're looking for someone," Mr Harper stated.

Karis nodded her head slowly. "Yes. I believe you may have met my friend."

"What exactly happened?" Dean interjected.

Mr Harper didn't answer the question immediately. "I was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. The doctors said it was terminal but chemotherapy might buy me some time with my family. Susan, my wife, refused to give up and started to investigate alternative forms of treatment, especially since the chemotherapy was…taxing. We met with quite a few people but most only took our money in return for empty promises. I remember only three of them refused to take any payment. When nothing worked, I told Susan it wasn't worth spending all our money and that I was out of time. About a month after I told her that, the doctors said it was getting close, that I should get my affairs in order. The next day… my tumour had disappeared."

Dean frowned. "No one came to see you that could explain this?"

Mr Harper shook his head. "The only people I had contact with were my family and my doctors."

"I was told my friend is working as a fortune teller," Karis said. "I don't suppose you met with anyone like that?"

The old man smiled. "My dear, I met with a lot of fortune tellers. Why is it so important to find her so urgently?"

Karis hesitated for a moment. "Dean's brother is sick and I'm hoping she can help."

"I could give you a list of names," Mr Harper offered. "But I don't know how far that will get you."

"It's more than we have now," Karis replied.

She and Dean sat in awkward silence while Mr Harper wrote out a list for them. He wished them good luck and Karis thanked him gratefully. They decided it was time to leave so they headed off to the nearest open restaurant to get some lunch and Karis examined the list. Fortune tellers always had the most ridiculous names but, unfortunately, no name immediately stood out to her.

"Did we just waste our time?" Dean asked.

"I don't think so," Karis answered.

"You really think Sammy is sick?" Dean abruptly asked.

Karis looked up in surprise at that. "What do you mean?"

"Your friend cures him and everything goes back to normal?"

"I don't know, Dean," Karis answered honestly. "He did make the decision to drink demon blood so I don't think he can be cured in that sense of the word."

Dean frowned. "And that means what exactly?"

She shrugged. "I don't think Sam understood the full ramifications of his decision and, at the time, he probably wasn't in a state of mind to care. Elanna might be able to help stop the visions but everything else, I think maybe only you could get through to him."

"We would have to find him first," Dean pointed out and then went back to eating his slice of pie.

Karis had intended on saying something to comfort Dean or to cheer him up but the thought died when she looked up as the door to the restaurant opened. A young man about two years older than Dean walked in. He had messy blond hair styled in that 'I just got out of bed' look and he was pretty well built. He was wearing a pair of jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt. His sunglasses were sitting on the bridge of his nose as he winked his brown eyes flirtatiously at the hostess. And so Tharin Dinos made his entrance. All thoughts of the conversation disappeared from Karis' mind.

"Crap," she murmured and glanced around her in a panic.

She grabbed the menu and put it up, slinking behind it so no one could see her. She cautiously peeked around the edge and instead of having a clear line of sight to Tharin, all she got was a very confused Dean watching her in slight amusement. She seriously hoped that this was just a coincidence, that Tharin had not seen her and followed her here. She leant a bit further around her menu until she could see Tharin being escorted to a table on the other side of the restaurant. He was too distracted by the pretty hostess to notice Karis lurking behind her menu, thankfully.

Dean paid for their meal and Karis practically ran out the door. The last thing she wanted right now was to have a conversation with Tharin and Dean wasn't too keen on being introduced to him either so they chose to return to the motel and see what they could learn about the list of fortune tellers they had received from Mr Harper. This research turned out to be very boring. Most of them had their own homepages but it was so full of misdirection, carefully phrased sentences and animated glitter to spruce things up a bit that Karis was starting to wonder if she would have more fun talking to Tharin.

After what felt like a lifetime of searching through fake backgrounds, newspaper articles claiming that they could achieve the impossible but there were no guarantees therefore they weren't financially liable for unwanted results and any general information about the people on the list, they had nothing. Karis was just about ready to give up when she started looking into the second last name, a Madame Esmeralda.

"Maybe Harper didn't even meet Elanna," Dean commented in frustration. "And this was a waste of time."

Karis briefly glanced away from her computer screen and then continued to scan through the information she had found. "Maybe not."

"You found something?" he asked, immediately perking up. Dean didn't exactly have the patience or the attention span for research.

"Madame Esmeralda," Karis answered. "As far as I can tell, she's only been in town for three months and before that, no one had ever heard of her."

"It can't be that surprising," Dean pointed out. "These people change names so often, it's hard to keep track sometimes."

"Maybe," Karis answered slowly. "But for someone who has been here for such a short time, she's had a lot of positive reviews for her tarot readings, herbal remedies and consults, like Missouri does. Way more than the others I checked out and not one bad review calls her a scam artist or someone looking to fill her pockets at the expense of gullible people."

Dean was a bit amused at her phrasing. "Is that a quote?"

She shrugged. "I came across various versions of it with the others. The point is Elanna charges just enough to get by. She doesn't do it to get rich otherwise the wrong people tend to notice."

Dean sighed, like he wasn't entirely convinced. "Do you want to go check it out?"

"It's the best lead we have," Karis said. "But let's go first thing in the morning. I want to eliminate these other names first."

Dean wasn't about to talk her out of doing more research if it meant he didn't have to do it as well. He found some or other program to watch on the ancient television but Karis was too busy to actually investigate. Once she was satisfied that Madame Esmeralda was their best lead, she bid Dean good night and went to bed. Aside from her recurring nightmare of being tortured by the demon just after midnight, she had a reasonably fair night's sleep. It looked like Dean didn't sleep any better than she did but years of experience working with very little sleep got them moving.

It was late morning when they found themselves standing outside Madame Esmeralda's shop. The small shop was nestled nearby the well-known Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It was out of the way so it was easily overlooked although it was unique enough to attract some attention, especially from tourists. It was snuggled between two larger businesses and the square front window had the name _Esmeralda's Fortunes_ in an elegant script that took up most of the glass. Along the bottom of the window in smaller writing was written: _Tarot Readings, Potions, Medicinal Remedies and Fortune Telling_. On display in the window was an assortment of plants, herbs, crystals and candles.

Dean and Karis were standing on the pavement, on the opposite side of the street to the small shop. Dean eyed it critically, almost like he doubted it would provide them with any useful information since the shop looked innocent enough. Karis looked around to make extra sure no one was following them and then they crossed the road in the silence. The inside of the shop followed the usual cliché of what was expected of a fortune teller, perhaps too well because there wasn't any sign of any personal touches. The walls were painted a dark orange with large red curtains draped along the walls decoratively. Along the left and the right walls were shelves which were covered in a variety of objects: books, more candles, herbs and small bottles with an assortment of colours.

Some familiar and unfamiliar symbols were either drawn or carved onto the walls, some of which were obscured by the curtains. Upon closer inspection, many of the symbols on the wall were for protection against various creatures. Dean looked towards Karis with a wary expression. Maybe Karis was right and that this really was Elanna's shop. At the very least, these symbols proved that Madame Esmeralda wasn't just another fraud trying to make a buck and actually had some idea of what she was doing. The wall opposite had another doorway which was covered in beads.

In the far left corner was the main counter with a cash register, a few more candles and small bottles and a black cat was curled in a tight ball on a pillow, sleeping beside the cash register. In the centre of the room was a round table of medium size but it still took up most of the room. At the moment, there were only two chairs. The table cloth was also dark red and nearly reached the wooden floor on all sides with a smaller, white tablecloth that only covered the top of the table. A single oil lamp burnt brightly in the very centre of the table. A dream catcher hung above the door and incense was burning somewhere nearby so the shop was filled with the soft smell of sandalwood. A large decorative rug covered the majority of the floor.

As they looked around the shop, searching for some clue that could either confirm or deny Elanna's presence, they noticed a lot of the bottles were labelled. The majority were old remedies for sickness – such as the flu or headaches – and not the usual love potions or other such ridiculous things that fortune tellers had a reputation for selling. Most of the herbs were also familiar, some of which were associated with witches and others for summoning spells. Karis could tell this immediately put Dean on edge since any past experiences with witches would not have ended well. She seriously hoped Dean wouldn't draw a weapon while they were here.

Karis went to investigate a shelf's contents just as a woman emerged from the room behind the beads and she, too, kept in line with the gypsy fortune teller cliché. She was wearing a dress of white, pale reds and oranges in the fashion expected of gypsies and fortune tellers and her strawberry blonde hair was tied back in a bun with a few beads to complete the picture. Her strange turquoise eyes shone with light amusement. Her skin was slightly tanned and she didn't wear any makeup – aside from black eyeliner. There was a certain natural beauty about her which immediately caught the attention of those around. Karis idly wondered how long it would take before Dean started to flirt with her. It took her a few moments to see through the elaborate costume but she knew without a doubt that this was Elanna.

The shelf had obscured Karis from Elanna's view so she wasn't immediately spotted. Instead, Elanna focused on Dean, probably assuming he was the only customer in the shop. Karis was relieved to see that Elanna was alright and unharmed. Given recent events, a part of her had worried that they were too late to warn her. But then a slight tinge of panic settled in the pit of her stomach. How was Elanna going to react when she saw her? Would she be angry or hurt? Would she be happy to see Karis or would she refuse to speak to her?

"Welcome to my shop," Elanna greeted pleasantly and she had a strong French accent, obviously still pretending to be Madame Esmeralda. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Dean looked around the shop, trying to find Karis. "I think so."

Karis stepped forward and came to stand beside Dean, preparing herself for Elanna to react in the worst possible way. Maybe there would be shouting involved? Angry accusations of betrayal? Instead, Elanna dropped the act entirely and even her amusement faded. She looked guarded and confused. Those were emotions Karis could work with – so much better than anger.

"Karis?" Elanna asked with a frown. Her French accent had disappeared, replaced now with an American accent with a somewhat noticeable hint of Ireland. "What are you doing here?"

Karis decided it was probably for the best that they skipped the tearful and emotional reunion and focus on the serious business at hand. "We need to talk. It's important."

Elanna was silent for a moment. "It must be really important if you decided to break your promise." It was not an accusation, just an observation. She sighed and then snapped her fingers. The 'Open' sign on the door flipped around so it now said 'Closed'. "Follow me."

Elanna headed for the door that led into the back room and Karis nudged Dean. He was still staring at the sign, trying to figure out how she did that but he snapped out of it and followed Elanna cautiously. The backroom was quite small even compared to the rest of the shop. To the right was a flight of stairs that led up and on their left was a wooden door. Elanna took out a key that she hid on her person and opened the door. There were more stairs that led down into a basement. They were wooden and appeared to be very old. She then led them through another door by the foot of the stairs. More symbols were carved into the doorframes and a Key of Solomon was carved into the ceiling above the door. When she opened it with another key, Dean appeared to be disappointed. With the amount of security, he probably expected a treasure trove of Hunters' weapons.

What they found instead was a collection of potted plants growing, more bottles and a lot of cupboards, all of which were closed without even a hint of what could be inside them. A single light hung in the middle of the ceiling and cast an orange glow. Despite the old appearance of the basement, it was well cared for and there wasn't any dust in sight. At the far end of the room was a desk with a few books, papers and newspapers neatly stacked in rows. A mortar and pestle was placed on the corner of the desk to be used in the making of the potions. A large, rectangular wooden table was placed in the centre of the room. There were also a few crates and boxes stashed away, obviously stock for her shop.

Elanna turned to face them. "We can talk freely here. What's going on? And who is this?"

"Dean Winchester, this is Elanna Cassidy," Karis introduced.

"A Winchester?" Elanna mused quietly. And then she settled her now amused gaze on Karis. "And not just any Winchester."

Karis sighed in mild annoyance. Far too many people were interested in their relationship. "Don't look so smug. We're not together again. I'm just helping him."

"Do tell," Elanna said, still quite amused.

Karis first looked to Dean to get his permission to tell the whole truth and when he nodded, she delved straight into it: Bobby's phone call, the basics of Azazel's Children since Elanna already knew about them, Sam being one of them, his original premonitions, the visions he was getting now, his decision to drink demon blood, his trust in Ruby, Dean's recent trip to Hell, being pulled out by an angel, the unknown demon searching for Elanna in particular and finally the breaking of the seals. By the end of it, Karis was tired of hearing herself talk (Dean was too busy watching Elanna for any signs of danger to comment on any of it) and Elanna looked thoughtful as she digested everything.

"I don't see how she's supposed to help," Dean commented in an undertone.

Elanna glanced up at that. "You didn't tell him?"

"Tell me what?" Dean demanded impatiently.

Karis ignored him. "It isn't my secret to tell, Ellie. It never has been."

Elanna smiled gratefully at that and then looked over at Dean. "There's no delicate way to admit this to a hunter so I'm going to be blunt about it: I'm a sorceress."

Dean frowned. "You're a witch?"

All traces of good humour disappeared as Elanna sighed in frustration. "Why does no one ever get the concept on the first try?" she murmured to herself. "No, Dean. I am not a witch. I'm a sorceress."

"What's the difference?" Dean asked.

Karis tried to subtly warn him to steer clear of this topic but he either didn't see her or he was ignoring her. Nothing annoyed Elanna more than being mistaken for a witch (except maybe being compared to one) and Karis had no idea how worked up she was going to get about it now.

"What's the difference?" Elanna repeated angrily. "For one, anyone can choose to become one of those whores."

Dean looked over to Karis at the unexpected tone and choice of words. Elanna obviously had a deep hatred for witches. He even mouthed _'Whores?'_ and Karis could only shrug helplessly. She tried to warn him after all but there would be no stopping Elanna once she got started.

"And I don't need the disgusting remains of various animals to work a spell," Elanna continued, oblivious to their exchange. "And I don't exchange my soul for scraps. Ever since that witch upstart couldn't handle being second best in Salem, everyone thinks witches and sorcerers are the same but let me tell you, Mr Winchester, a witch wouldn't know how to work _real_ magic."

At that, Dean looked bewildered. "Real magic?"

Elanna was a bit surprised at his reaction and then looked over to Karis. "At least he's cute."

Karis smiled in amusement. "You know the spells hunters tend to use, like locator spells and summoning spells and devil's traps?" When Dean nodded, Karis pointed at Elanna. "Her people developed them."

"Just to be clear: we're talking real actual magic?"

"He doesn't catch on very quick, does he?" Elanna asked sadly.

"First angels, now this? He'll need a moment to deal," Karis replied.

Dean stammered wordlessly for a few moments before finally settling on a question to ask. "Why haven't we heard of you before?"

"There are a lot of reasons for it," Elanna answered and pulled herself up so she was sitting on one of the tables. "Like I mentioned earlier, most people mistake sorcerers to mean witches when they aren't even in the same league as us. There also aren't as many of us left, between hunters, demons and ourselves. And some hunters who do cross paths with us remember a time when sorcerers and hunters worked together and therefore keep us a secret, such as your father and Bobby. And Karis' entire family."

Karis decided it was probably best if they gave Dean some more time to process this. "What do you want to do, Ellie? I know you usually prefer to stay out of matters where demons are concerned."

Elanna considered the question. "Well, it sounds like I'm already involved, whether I like it or not. These visions your brother is having also bothers me. Or rather, the timing of them."

That got Dean's attention. "Would do you mean?"

"At the moment, the demon ranks are in chaos. Some demons want Lucifer to return, others do not. Besides fighting angels, they're also fighting amongst themselves. The demon that is controlling Sam's visions doesn't seem interested in the war which isn't a good sign."

"I'm not sure I follow," Karis admitted.

"The return of Lucifer is a pretty big deal and could change the demons forever," Elanna explained. "If this demon doesn't care about that shift in power, what does have his interest?"

"Something worse than Lucifer," Karis guessed.

"What's worse than him?" Dean asked.

"My best guess is if we want that answer, we'll have to figure out what is happening with Sam first," Elanna replied. She was silent for a moment and then slid off the desk, walking over to the piles of paper. She took one and started to write something. "I need some time to gather my things and the like." She walked back over to Karis and handed her a piece of paper. "Meet me here tomorrow morning."

Karis looked at the paper. There was an address written on it for a small house out near the bayou. "Sure thing."

"And Karis?" She looked up. "It's good to see you again."


	9. Proceed with Caution

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**Chapter 9: Proceed with Caution**

The house was small and nestled deep in the bayou. It was located quite a distance from the nearest road. Simply put: it was out of the way and very easy to overlook. It was the perfect hiding place. Karis was relieved to be driving in silence as they neared the small house because Dean had been repeatedly asking just what was meant by 'real magic' for most of last night and pretty much the entire morning too. Karis had convinced him that he had nothing to fear from Elanna but he was still suspicious. This was something she could accept but she told Dean that if he pulled any weapon on Elanna, she wouldn't hesitate to defend herself.

Karis parked the car outside the house and then climbed out. Aside from the sounds of nature, it was completely silent. A small square of land had been set up as a garden. From this distance, Karis could make out the usual herbs and vegetables but she also recognised more exotic and unusual plants; nightshade being among them. Everything looked pretty normal, all things considered. Karis glanced over at Dean and could have sworn he looked disappointed by the ordinariness of it all. She glanced back down the road to make sure there wasn't anyone lurking there and then approached the front door.

She lifted her hand to knock when the door swung open… on its own. Sure, it was a little bit creepy but growing up with Elanna had taught Karis one thing: expect the unexpected. Without hesitation, she walked inside. Dean followed closely, giving the door an accusatory glare before it slammed shut again. The door led straight into the living room which although it looked comfortable with a few couches, a basic television and a fireplace built into the wall, it was lacking any personal touches. There weren't any photographs hanging on the wall or items with sentimental value on display above the fireplace. A door to their left led to a small hallway with a staircase and directly opposite them, through another door, was the kitchen.

Elanna walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray of coffee with three mugs so she knew they were there. She had since ditched the gypsy outfit and her hair was now tied back in a long plait. She was dressed plainly in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with some or other band name on it. For the time being, she was also barefoot. She greeted them and then indicated the couches. Once Karis and Dean took a seat, she set the tray down on the coffee table in the centre of the room and passed them each a cup of coffee. Then she took one for herself and sat down in a single seat couch opposite them. Jinx, her black cat, came trotting into the room and took a seat on the nearby window sill.

"After our brief conversation yesterday, I figured we should talk before we go any further," Elanna explained and then looked over to Dean. "I'm going to assume you want some questions answered before you'll trust me to help your brother."

Dean seemed at a loss for words at her openness so Karis decided to interject. "Dean's having trouble… understanding just what you can do, specifically the definition of 'real magic'." Dean was too curious to give her a glare for snitching on him.

Elanna wasn't surprised. "As you know, witches don't have real power. Their power comes from objects and depending on the words they speak, it affects the outcome. For sorcerers, it's different. We're born with magic and can do things with a simple thought. Even our emotions could lead to disastrous outcomes which is why we use spells. The words give our magic a direction, a focus. The language doesn't matter as long as its purpose is clear. There are no limits to what magic can accomplish but there are limits for the sorcerer."

Dean looked very confused. "And that means what exactly?"

"Some spells require a lot of power and if the sorcerer isn't powerful enough, it can kill them," Elanna answered. "We also have rules, enforced by our Council of Elders. We can't use our magic to bring back the dead, we can't make people fall in love with each other and we are forbidden from making deals with demons, no matter what. We can, however, use our magic to help people as long as it doesn't draw attention to us. But, you should also be aware that there is another faction out there that believes their magic makes them superior to mortals and if we do not help them rule, then we are against them. A bit dramatic in my opinion."

"They're still around?" Karis asked in surprise.

Elanna nodded as she drank some coffee. "Unfortunately."

"Besides spells, what else can you do?" Dean asked.

"Pretty much whatever your run of the mill psychic can," Elanna answered and then immediately noticed Dean's expression. "I'm not a mind reader, Dean. Not like Missouri and Pamela, anyway."

Karis smiled when she saw Dean's expression. "Elanna needs physical contact to read your mind and even then, she only does it with permission."

"Besides that, I also do tarot card readings and alchemy," Elanna continued and then sighed. "Potion making. Alchemy means potion making, Dean."

"What about that man you healed from near death?" Dean asked. "How do you choose?"

"I don't choose," Elanna answered. "When people come to me for help, I do a tarot reading. The cards choose who should be saved to keep balance in the world. It sounds crazy and is really hard to explain but there it is. Besides, potions depend on the person. I can make the most powerful healing potion the world has ever seen and it won't do a thing if the person has already decided it's their time to die."

"And what's this issue you have with witches?" Dean asked carefully. "Don't get me wrong, they creep me out but it seems more personal for you."

Karis inwardly groaned. It was never a good idea to get Elanna started on the topic of witches but maybe today she would be on her best behaviour.

"To answer that, it will be a bit of a history lesson," Elanna began. "Sorcerers have always helped Hunters fight against monsters. It sounds weird but we're still technically human so every monster out there can still kill us. There are also some beliefs that we can make them more powerful if they kill us. For example, the vampires believe that drinking our blood will make them stronger or a demon can access our magic if we're possessed. So it's always been logical to help hunters. We also helped discover a lot of ways to kill monsters."

"Seriously?" Dean asked sceptically.

Elanna shrugged. "Think about it, Dean. A lot of hunters prefer the shoot first and ask questions later approach. And if one gun didn't work, it's time to get a bigger gun. You honestly think a hunter would have discovered what dead man's blood does to a vampire? That salt dispels ghosts and demons? Sorcerers have always experimented with things, it's a requirement for alchemy."

Dean considered it for a moment. "I haven't really thought about it but it does make sense…kinda."

"Back then, people accepted we weren't with the witches," Elanna continued. "And even though some of us were against the idea of working with hunters, the hunters were a little bit more open minded about it, especially because we never interfered with mortals. We only dealt with hunters and monsters. And then the Salem Witch Trials happened. I'll give you the quick and ugly version. A few of my people were in Salem at the time but they were just passing through, unaware that a few of the townspeople were practicing witchcraft. A young witch performed a powerful ritual and chaos pretty much followed. The sorcerers had to defend themselves and they tried to undo the ritual but it was too late. People died and the hunters that responded didn't care who started it. After that… well, people started to believe that witches and sorcerers are the same and that sorcerers can no longer be trusted. We're hunted now too, aside from a small handful of hunters."

"So why would a demon use Sammy to find you specifically?" Dean asked.

Karis was also quite curious about it. It seemed like a lot of work to find one person, especially since there were other sorcerers.

Elanna was silent for a moment. "I honestly have no idea. Like I said, demons try to possess us to see if they can use our magic but this seems a bit extreme. Do you know which demon is affecting your brother?"

"We haven't exactly been introduced," Dean answered.

Elanna smiled. "Fair enough." She turned serious again. "When Azazel first started with giving demon blood to infants, the Council investigated. Since there was no black magic involved and the infants weren't harmed as far as they could tell, they didn't intervene but we've always suspected there was more to the plan; that it was more than just opening the hell gates. Azazel could have done it to one infant and been done with it but instead, he put in a lot of effort into finding the strongest one."

"Why?" Karis asked.

"We never found out," Elanna answered.

"You think that this demon might be trying to finish whatever Yellow Eyes started?" Dean guessed.

"I think it's a possibility," she answered. "But either way, I have no idea how I fit into it."

Karis sighed quietly. "I really hate demons," she muttered under her breath. And then she asked louder "So where do we start?"

"I think we need to ward your brother," Elanna said. "Make it so the demon can't find him and block his influence."

Karis and Dean exchanged a glance. "That might be harder than you would expect," Karis warned quietly.

Elanna frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Sam got tired of sitting around and knocked Bobby unconscious, stole my car and disappeared," Dean answered irritably but his irritation was directed at Sam.

Elanna's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Well, that's… unexpected but not really a problem."

"We don't know where Sam is," Dean replied. "How is that not a problem?"

"Magic, remember?" Elanna said like she pointing out the obvious to an idiot. "I can find him. First things first though. We should get you warded too."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're Sam's brother. If the demons have trouble finding him, they might come after you," Elanna explained. "Besides, Karis is already warded."

"After the demon… y'know," Karis answered when he gave her a questioning look.

"What about hex bags?" Dean asked.

Elanna then started laughing like he had just told a really good joke but she stopped the moment she realised no one else was laughing. "Oh, you were serious? Well, this awkward." She cleared her throat. "Hex bags are no match for a proper locator spell. I can find anyone who uses a hex bag. And if you want a hex bag, well they aren't exactly reliable or a perfect solution. You forget to take them, they accidently catch on fire… you aren't always protected. If this demon is as powerful as we think, a hex bag won't stop him."

Dean looked over at Karis. "What do you think?"

"We have no idea what we're up against and buying some time to figure it out might be our only option at the moment," Karis answered honestly. "But this ward is pretty permanent. I can't make the decision for you."

"It'll work for all demons?" Dean asked.

"Yep," Elanna answered.

"Let's do it," Dean agreed.

Elanna got to her feet and put her empty coffee mug back on the tray. "Follow me."

As they turned to leave the living room, Dean and Karis put their empty mugs down as well. Elanna led the way up the stairs and past a few closed doors that Karis guessed led to the bedroom, bathroom and guest room. When Elanna opened the door to the final room, it revealed her study-slash-workroom. One half of the room was the study with a couple of bookshelves along most of the wall and there was a desk covered in more books and pieces of paper. It looked like it was intended for research. The other half of the room was her workroom. It had a table for mixing potions and there were boxes of ingredients and vials of already made potions sitting on shelves, in cupboards… pretty much any open space had been filled with no system that Karis could identify. A few herbs were also hanging by the windows to dry. In the very centre of the room was a small round table with two chairs on one side and another chair on the other side. It was the table where Elanna did tarot card readings.

Elanna walked over to her desk and started rifling through the drawers and Karis took a seat in one of the empty chairs. Dean hovered in the doorway and looked around the room. Karis guessed this wasn't what he had imagined. Witches were usually surrounded by all sorts of disgusting things. Karis hadn't heard of a single hunter finding a clean witch's house. This room was different. The only things in here were plants and herbs. There were even some pleasant aromas from the various herbs. It definitely did not look like a scene out of a horror movie.

"Take a seat on the table and take off your shirt," Elanna directed as she continued to search through the drawers.

That definitely caught Dean's attention and Karis expected a smooth pickup line or witty retort since she knew Dean enjoyed female attention since their break up. She had even mentally prepared herself for it. He hadn't exactly been shy about it either considering he hit on the bartender without a second thought after the dryad was taken care of.

"Excuse me?" Dean asked instead.

Karis had no idea if she should be relieved or disappointed so she settled on confused instead.

"You heard me," Elanna replied but her voice was muffled because she was now behind the desk. "I need to put the ward on your spine."

Dean still hadn't moved. "Why?"

"Oh, the usual," Elanna explained. "Your energy needs to maintain the ward, spines are like tree roots, blah blah. I would hate to bore you with the details."

Dean looked over to Karis for a better explanation but she just shrugged in response. She hadn't exactly been in a state of mind to listen to the explanation when Elanna had warded her so she had no clue either. Dean decided to humour Elanna and followed her instructions, taking his shirt off and sitting on the table. Karis was putting a lot of effort into not staring again so she picked up a random book and started to page through it to distract herself. A few moments later, Elanna stood up triumphantly with a permanent marker in her hand. Karis really wondered how Elanna ever found anything in her house.

"I knew I had one of these around somewhere," she said proudly.

"A permanent marker?" Dean asked, hoping she wasn't being serious. "You're going to give me demon protection with a permanent marker?"

Elanna was unfazed by his tone. "Ideally, it would be a tattoo but we don't really have time for that and you aren't exactly completely convinced by this. Permanent marker makes sure you're still warded but you're not stuck with something you don't trust. It's the best of both worlds."

"Can't you just 'magic' a tattoo onto me?" Dean asked.

"I could, if you promise to never use magic as a verb again," Elanna answered. "But it'll hurt."

"How bad?"

"The normal amount of pain you'd experience if you got it as a normal tattoo all at once," Elanna explained. "It's magic, not a miracle."

"Do it."

"Okay."

Elanna dropped the permanent marker in a completely different drawer and then walked over to Dean so she was standing behind him. Then she placed the tips of her fingers of her right hand on his back, at the base of his neck, so they almost formed a circle. Karis glanced up from her book to watch. Elanna then closed her eyes and muttered a few words under her breath in Latin but it was too soft to catch anything. Dean only winced at first and then he grunted in pain. A few seconds later, it was over and Elanna walked back over to her desk. Karis walked over to Dean to check and then nodded to let him know that Elanna had done exactly what she said she would do.

The tattoo itself was pretty simple. It was an elegant script, similar to the lettering found in devil's traps and the Key of Solomon, that ran vertically along his spine from the base of his neck until it was in line with his shoulder blades. The letters were also quite small and the black ink was outlined in dark red. Karis had no idea if the colours actually meant anything but didn't think it was important enough to ask. As soon as she stepped away, Dean put his shirt back on and Karis looked over to Elanna to see what she was doing now.

Before she could ask, Elanna was digging through her bookshelf. "Grab that box of candles for me, would you, Karis?"

Karis looked around her but couldn't see any candles. "What box would that be?"

"It should be somewhere there," Elanna replied and gestured vaguely behind her and with the way she was standing, she pretty much gestured to most of the room.

Karis looked over to Dean to make sure she wasn't the only one confused. He shrugged in answer so she resisted the urge to sigh. Even without magic, Elanna was never boring. Karis started searching in any space that a box of candles could fit and eventually came across a small box underneath a clump of rosemary. She picked it up and put it down on one of the chairs by the table and peered inside just to double check. The candles were thin and tall like the type used in fancy dining but these were various colours. They were also stuck in empty wine bottles with dried wax covering the tops and running down the sides.

"How much wine do you drink?" Karis asked and picked up a random bottle.

Elanna had started tossing loose papers around her unceremoniously as she got frustrated that she couldn't find what she was looking for. "Just a bottle now and then."

Karis paused and wondered if Elanna realised how much that made her sound like an alcoholic.

"Aren't candles, I don't know, kind of clichéd?" Dean asked.

"Perhaps," Elanna answered. "But instead of being a source of power or whatever they're used for in movies these days, they help focus the spell."

"I thought the spell was already focusing?" Dean asked with a frown.

Elanna finally resurfaced with a rolled up paper and walked over to the table. "I'm glad to know you're paying attention. Normally, a locator spell would give me a general location, within a few blocks. With the candles, I can get you the exact address."

She unrolled the paper and revealed it was a large map of the United States of America which took up most of the table. Karis helped Elanna place four candles – one at each compass point – on top of the map to make sure it didn't roll itself back up again. Karis took a step back and Elanna snapped her fingers again. The four candles were suddenly lit. Karis was convinced she did the finger snapping for dramatic effect, rather than something more practical. Elanna then took a small container of fine sand and dumped it in the centre of the map.

Elanna then looked at Dean. "I need something that belongs to Sam or has some meaning to him. It'll make sure I find the right person."

Dean thought about it for a moment and then took off the amulet he had worn since Karis first met him. She had never seen him take if off ever and knew Sam had originally bought it as a Christmas present for their father but gave it to Dean instead.

He didn't hand it over immediately. "I'm going to want this back."

Elanna smiled reassuringly. "I just need it to detect Sam's essence. You'll have it back in a minute or less."

He hesitated again and then finally passed it to her. Elanna took it carefully and held it between her thumb and forefinger with her eyes closed. She held it for a few more moments and then opened her eyes.

"That's all I needed, Dean. Thank you."

She passed it back and Dean put it back on almost immediately. Karis had to respect Dean for that. Despite everything Sam had done and was currently putting him through, Dean still loved him and treasured a gift he got a very long time ago. She was almost jealous of the way Dean cared about his brother; only because she wished she had that kind of relationship with her own siblings. Instead, she rarely saw them and knew very little about them. At least they had normal, happy lives instead of living in a never ending horror movie.

Elanna stretched out her hands and hovered them above the sand. She closed her eyes again and whispered in Latin. The sand started to move around the map like some dust storm in a desert. Steadily, it started to gather in one area of the map. Karis curiously looked at the map. The sand was gathering in Illinois. Beyond that, they needed to wait for Elanna to let them know as she zeroed in on Sam.

"It's starting to get clearer now," Elanna said once she finished speaking in Latin. "Illinois." There were a few moments of silence. "Sam's in Phoenix."

"Any idea where in Phoenix?" Dean pressed.

"Hang on," Elanna replied and her brow furrowed in concentration. "Someone's given him a hex bag. This'll take a few more moments."

"I thought she said hex bags aren't a match for her magic," Dean said to Karis in an undertone.

"They aren't," Karis explained just as quietly. "But they aren't powerless. It's like a bit of interference when making a phone call. You can still make the call but it's fuzzy until you get past it."

"Right," Dean replied even though he still looked confused.

"Got it," Elanna announced and opened her eyes. The sand immediately formed its pile again and the candles extinguished themselves. "He's at the Astoria Hotel. Room 207."

"You've got to be kidding me," Dean muttered angrily.

"What?" Karis asked.

"When I first got back from Hell, that's the exact room where Bobby and I found him," Dean answered. "With Ruby."

'His demon BFF?" Elanna recalled. "I'm guessing she gave him the hex bag then."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Dean said.

"So, not only does he have a hex bag and is rooming with a demon but he went somewhere you already found him in the hopes you wouldn't think of looking for him there," Karis summarised. "It sounds like he doesn't want you to find him."

"Which means he's probably gone back to drinking demon blood, if he even stopped like he told me he did," Dean grumbled and then he sighed. "There's no point in putting this off any longer. We should get going, Karis."

"I'm coming too," Elanna interjected indignantly. "You asked for my help, remember?"

"No offense but you hardly look ready to leave and you did say we didn't have time to waste," Dean argued impatiently.

Elanna huffed in annoyance. "Give me five minutes, pretty boy." Then she turned around and left the room.

Dean's anger was momentarily forgotten as he stared after Elanna in confusion. "Did she just…?"

"Call you pretty boy?" Karis finished for him. "Yep. Come on. Let's go wait by the car."

They waited in silence and leant against the hood of Karis' car. She was worried about Dean because she hadn't seen him this angry since he got the phone call from Bobby. She wanted to ask if he was alright but she also knew that was a stupid question. And, truth be told, she had something else on her mind, something that had been distracting her since they left Elanna's shop the previous day. Both Elanna and Dean were now back in her life and even though she was happy to see them, a part of her couldn't stop wondering when they would leave her again. They had both left her unexpectedly before. It was only a matter of time until it happened again and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle that again.

Being tortured by the demon had broken something inside her and she put on a brave face but she couldn't stop thinking about Elanna and Dean leaving her again. This was why Karis had promised herself she wouldn't get too close to them again. She would be friendly and she would pretend everything is alright but she just couldn't go through that again. A few minutes later, Elanna walked out her front door, only now she was wearing a black zip up hoodie and sneakers with a single duffle bag in her right hand. They packed it in the trunk and just as Elanna opened the door to get to the backseat, Jinx jumped in. Elanna slid in beside him and they were on the road again.

Karis had decided to drive and for a while, no one said anything. Jinx had curled up and gone to sleep, Elanna was paging through a book and Dean was staring out the passenger side window. Karis guessed he was trying to figure out how to handle things with Sam. No matter how they approached it, it wouldn't end well, even without the demon BFF and drinking demon blood. Sam had lied to Dean multiple times, knocked their father figure unconscious and stolen the Impala. This conversation would not be pretty.

"What does this tattoo do, exactly?" Dean abruptly asked, probably trying to distract himself.

Elanna snorted in amusement. "Most people ask that before I magically put it on them."

"Seriously, what does it do?"

Elanna closed her book. "Demons have their own ways of finding people and the tattoo hides you from them. It also blocks demonic influence."

"You mean, like demon possession?" Dean asked with a frown. "I already have a tattoo for that."

"Not possession, per se," Elanna answered. "Although it does prevent that too. I mean demonic influence over the mind. Some demons can cloud judgement, influence people into making or accepting demon deals – another reason to hate crossroads demons. It'll also help stop your nightmares."

Dean froze. "What do you mean?"

"Hell's singular purpose is to corrupt," Elanna explained. "It left a taint on your soul. Even though your soul is back and you're alive and out of Hell, et cetera et cetera, Hell still has a hold on you. This taint doesn't disappear overnight. It'll fade with time and the longer you're alive, the better you'll feel as your soul heals. Some of the nightmares are caused by this taint and the tattoo will block those as well. The nightmares brought upon by memories… you'll still have those."

Dean let that sink in for a few moments. "Will I go back to Hell?"

Karis was a bit surprised by the question but then again, she had never heard of someone being pulled out of Hell before so she had no idea.

"You know how demons like their little loopholes?" Elanna began. "This is one in your favour. You won't go back to Hell unless you make another demon deal. You've held up your end of the agreement: you went to Hell. It's the demons' fault if they didn't say how long you should be there for."

Dean looked a bit relieved to know he wasn't going back and, truth be told, Karis was relieved too. They went back to travelling in silence until they reached the Astoria Hotel. Dean immediately spotted the Impala in the parking lot and went to make sure she was okay. Jinx remained in the car as Karis and Elanna followed Dean through the hotel towards room 207. Once they were outside, Dean just stood there like he had no idea what to do if he opened the door. Karis said nothing and neither did Elanna. This was up to him. When he was ready, he raised his hand to knock but Elanna stopped him.

"Allow me," she said and stuck out her hand. The door flew open and banged against the wall.

Sam and Ruby were both startled and got to their feet when Dean, Karis and Elanna walked in. Karis slammed the door behind them and she and Elanna hung back so Dean could confront Sam. Sam immediately put his hands up in a placating gesture, hoping that would convince Dean not to tackle him or punch him or whatever else he expected.

"Dean, I can explain," he said hurriedly.

Dean just shrugged helplessly. "Explain what, Sammy? Why you attacked Bobby? Why you've been lying to me ever since I got back? Explain what?"

It was then that Karis realised Dean was getting tired of putting up with Sam and his lies. Yes, he was angry but he also had no idea what else he could do. He was just at a loss. In her opinion, that was way worse than anger.

Ruby suddenly stepped forward and she looked angry too. "Dean, don't –"

Whatever Dean wasn't supposed to do they had no idea. Ruby's mouth was moving but there was no sound coming out whatsoever and Karis had to hand it to Elanna. That was a handy spell.

"If we want input from a demon, we'll ask for it," Elanna said in an unimpressed tone.

Sam looked at a total loss of words as he was confronted with the woman from his visions and his demon unable to speak. "What did you do?" he demanded.

Elanna was looking around the room curiously. "I just pressed the mute button. I find it's quite useful when dealing with demons and telemarketers."

"Wait, you're the woman from my visions," Sam realised.

Elanna paused in her appraisal of the room and looked at him instead. "Bravo, Mr Winchester. But please don't let my presence interfere with your explanation to your brother."

Karis was quite impressed by how she was handling the situation and she especially loved how sarcastically she had said 'bravo'. Elanna's accent only made it better. Sam was confused and then he looked to Dean again but still no explanation was forthcoming.

"Let's hear it, Sam," Dean ordered impatiently. When there still wasn't any response, he continued. "Let me guess: you needed another fix. Face it, Sammy, you're an addict."

"No I'm not," Sam argued angrily.

Elanna cleared her throat. "Technically, you are. I'm going to assume that Demon of the Month over here didn't give you the fine print and you didn't ask."

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"There's a reason why people don't drink demon blood," Elanna explained. "And I mean besides the whole moral and ethical thing. That's a whole other conversation on its own. But demon blood is powerful, especially in black magic. It changes you, makes you more like a demon. You're essentially absorbing their essence into yourself."

"You're lying," Sam accused defensively.

"Be in denial all you like, Sam, but do not accuse me of lying," Elanna warned dangerously. "You can feel it's changing you. Let me guess: you find yourself angry a lot, you'd rather take the violent approach even when unnecessary and you don't even feel bad about lying to your brother even though you know you should. That's the demon blood." She took a step forward, completely ignoring Ruby. "I have to wonder: why would you think drinking demon blood is the solution?"

"I have to kill Lilith," Sam said angrily.

"Why?" Elanna asked. "Out of revenge for killing your brother? I don't know if you've noticed this but Dean's back and standing right there. For revenge for torturing your brother? The only torture he's enduring right now is knowing you're lying to him and choosing a demon instead of him. Great choice. Is killing Lilith really worth losing everyone you care about?"

"Is that a threat?" Sam demanded.

"No," Karis answered quietly and regarded Sam with an unsettling level of indifference. Willingly consorting with a demon had caused Karis to lose a lot of respect for Sam and that was even without him hurting Bobby. "It's not a threat, Sam. You're the one destroying your relationships. Dean can't trust you and you just assaulted Bobby. I dropped everything to come help you and you run to a demon. I gave you the benefit of the doubt but maybe Gordon wasn't all that wrong about you."

"Don't say that," Sam said.

"I can't put up with this anymore, Sam, so either you leave with us right now and we try to figure out what's going on with these visions or you and I are done," Dean decided. There was a lengthy pause and then he sighed. "Let's go."

"Dean, wait," Sam begged. "I'll get my stuff."

"We'll wait downstairs," Karis said.

She and Elanna turned to go – Elanna glanced back briefly and ended the silence spell on Ruby – and headed back to the parking lot. She figured Sam and Dean needed a few minutes alone to figure things out. Just as she stepped through the door and into the parking lot, everything happened so fast. Jinx growled angrily from somewhere, the door slammed shut behind her locking Elanna inside, a sharp pain at the back of her head…and then darkness.


	10. Trouble

**I just wanted to thank you for your patience while I went back and edited the previous chapters. Spelling and grammar errors were fixed and I sorted out any continuity issues. As for my army of OCs, I figure that with a show like **_**Supernatural**_** there are very few main characters and with the scope of the world they created, sometimes OCs will be needed to fill in the blanks. Also, all OCs I create have a role to play in this story so hopefully, they'll be easy to follow and remember who's who.**

**I also wanted to apologise. I didn't intend for the story to be on hold for this long. Out of boredom, I bought **_**Destiny**_** and got somewhat addicted to it. **

**And finally, thank you for the favourites and the alerts. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Trouble**

Elanna followed Karis back towards the car in silence. A part of her wondered if they had been too hard on Sam. Drinking demon blood wasn't your typical cry for help but even so, he did it for a reason. It was possible that this would have been the kick in the butt he needed to get his act together again or maybe it would just push him further away where Ruby would become the person he depended on. The situation was delicate and because Sam had been drinking the demon blood for so long, there was no reliable way to predict how he was going to react to all of this in the long run. She understood Karis' anger though: demons were not to be trusted under any circumstances but because of how unstable things had become, they couldn't just kill Ruby or exorcise her otherwise they might lose Sam forever.

It was just as Elanna started to consider how to get rid of Ruby when the door slammed shut in front of her with Karis on the other side. Elanna tried to push the door open but it wouldn't budge. That was not a good sign so she shouted for Karis. No response. Elanna cursed under her breath and took a step back from the door. With her right hand raised, palm facing the door, she summoned a small amount of magic and blasted the door open. There was a metallic sounding clutter as a metal pipe had been sent flying across the parking lot – it probably had been used to keep the door closed. Elanna marched through the door and looked around cautiously, prepared for an attack. She walked a few paces away from the door but there was still no sign of Karis. The Impala was nearby as well as Karis' car and they were both undamaged.

Jinx was sitting on a nearby dumpster, looking offended that something had disturbed his nap and since he wasn't scared or growling, Elanna knew they could eliminate demon involvement. With an annoyed huff, she hurried back up the stairs and towards the room where they had left the Winchester brothers. They were still talking and even though Dean looked less angry, there was still a lot of distance between them. Ruby had since disappeared, either to give Sam time or to make sure Dean didn't try to kill her. Truth be told, Elanna really couldn't care less about Ruby's agenda at the moment. There were far more important things they needed to deal with. She headed inside and Sam stopped what he was saying mid-sentence. They both looked at her in confusion.

"Karis is gone," Elanna said breathlessly, choosing the direct approach.

"What?" Dean demanded.

Without any preamble, she recounted what had just happened downstairs and also included that she didn't think demons were involved. They looked at her like she was crazy when she based this theory on her cat's reaction but when she pointed out demons were unlikely to leave her alone, Dean looked a bit more convinced whereas Sam was visibly confused. He had no idea about anything that Elanna could do or why demons would want her. There were a few moments of silence and Elanna was quite surprised to realise that Karis' unexpected disappearance was now the centre of attention. The brothers were willing to drop everything else, even sorting out their complicated and damaged relationship, to find her.

"So if demons aren't involved, who else would want to take her?" Sam asked. "And why?"

"What about that other hunter… what's his name?" Dean suggested and then tried really hard to remember the name.

"You mean Tharin?" Elanna asked and then shook her head. "He may be an idiot with a huge ego but he would never hurt Karis."

Dean ran his hand over his face tiredly. "Who else then?"

Elanna opened her mouth to answer and then closed it again. Aside from monsters, Karis had a very short list of enemies which was quite unusual for hunters. She generally got along well with pretty much everyone. Although she wasn't best friends with every single person she crossed paths with, Karis was just the type of person who didn't make enemies… or so Elanna had assumed. She had been out of Karis' life for the past few years after all. The same went for Dean. Sam had only just met her. Of the three of them, no one knew if she had made any recent enemies and that realisation was just sinking in now.

"Maybe we should call her father and see what he knows?" Sam tried. "They're close."

Elanna shrugged. "He really won't approve. I mean, he didn't even want her to start hunting again so if he finds out she's been kidnapped, he might not let her continue to hunt. Same goes for her grandfather." And then a thought occurred to her. "Bobby might know something. Karis would make an effort to check in on him every now and then."

They agreed that even though it wasn't a solid plan, it was something. Sam and Dean spent a few minutes searching the parking lot in case Elanna had missed anything. When it was clear that whoever took Karis didn't leave anything behind, they loaded up the Impala. Sam and Dean were going to ride in the Impala and Elanna had decided to drive Karis' car. She had said that Karis would not be very impressed if they left her car in some random parking lot and although this was true, Elanna figured Sam and Dean could use the drive to sort out a few things and they wouldn't do it if she was in the car with them.

Elanna glanced over at the passenger seat, where Jinx was sitting and staring out the window. She sighed. "Some protector you turned out to be." Jinx looked over at her and settled his dark brown eyes on her and meowed angrily. She smiled and shook her head ruefully. "I suppose it's a good thing we can rule out demons and anything monster-related." Her amusement faded. "Then again, humans can be pretty messed up." She sighed quietly. "I really hope she's okay, Jinx."

* * *

It smelled musty and wet and overall like someplace she really didn't want to be. Karis slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Even though it was really dark, she could still make out a few things. For one, she guessed she was in an abandoned warehouse. The room was large and square and pretty much empty. Chains hung from metal beams; water dripped down from old pipes and formed puddles in random spots in the room and there were a few doors but no windows. It might have even been the loading bay of a warehouse but it was too dark to really be sure.

Since it seemed like she was alone at the moment, Karis took stock of herself. She was tied to a chair. It wasn't an old wooden chair but an office chair on wheels. That seemed odd, like they – whoever 'they' were – didn't care if she tried to escape on wheels. Her hands were tied around the back of the chair and her ankles had been tied together. It made escaping harder, not necessarily impossible. Aside from a major headache and what felt like dried blood on the back of her neck, Karis seemed mostly unharmed…so far. At this thought, Karis had to concentrate really hard to not panic. This feeling of déjà vu was too much and she was expecting a bunch of demons to walk through one of the doors at any moment. She started to focus on keeping her breathing calm and steady instead of figuring out some way of escaping.

The last thing she wanted was to be a prisoner yet again whether or not demons were involved. She couldn't help wondering if this was some sick joke being played on her by whoever controlled her fate or if she really had let her guard down that much that she found herself in serious trouble. It seemed like this was becoming a regular occurrence. As her panic slowly died down, Karis was able to think again. Demons didn't usually knock someone over the head before kidnapping them. It was usually get pinned to a wall, disappear and then find yourself in a completely different place. But, if demons weren't responsible for this, who was?

Karis shifted in her chair, careful not to move too much or make any noise. As far as she could tell, her knife was still in place around her forearm but her handgun was missing and so was her cellphone. The ropes around her wrists and ankles were tied tightly which didn't give her much room to manoeuvre but maybe if there was something sharp hanging on the walls, she could push herself in that direction and get free… except the dark made it near impossible to see anything and if she started to wheel around the room, someone was bound to investigate the noise and she still had no idea if she could beat whoever was holding her captive, if it came to that.

A loud metallic clang sounded in the distance and Karis tensed. It could have been a door being slammed shut somewhere nearby. She counted the seconds until she heard someone by one of the other doors. A light was turned on and even though it was a small, single bulb hanging just above her head, Karis had to squint. The door opened and three men walked in. Once her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, Karis resisted the urge to curse out loud. The two younger men she hadn't seen before but the older man in the centre, she knew all too well. She suddenly preferred the option of being taken by demons. At least she knew what to expect from them.

The man's name was Atherton Miller. His dark brown hair was cut short while his grey eyes watched Karis closely. Even though he was nearing the fifties, he still had a hunter's build. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, hiking boots and a long sleeved shirt, mostly to hide the various scars on his arms. He walked with purpose and Karis had been too distracted by his appearance to notice the two young men had remained by the door and they were both carrying shotguns, almost like prison guards. Karis tried very hard to make it look like she wasn't afraid or worried but since Atherton didn't show any emotion whatsoever, she had no clue if it was convincing. He stopped just in front of her and knelt down so they were almost at eye level.

"There is a part of me that would like nothing more than to kill you right now," he said. "A lot of good people are dead because of you."

Karis looked at him in disbelief. "The only reason why you think that is because they were exactly like you. That doesn't make them good."

"We took you in, looked after you and had your back," Atherton reminded angrily.

"Until I became inconvenient and then you didn't hesitate to try to kill me," she spat, just as angry.

He slapped her across the face with the back of his hand. "I see we're going to need to teach you some respect."

"You mean beat some into me," Karis corrected.

"And some obedience too, I see," Atherton commented.

Karis glared at him angrily. "Why don't you just kill me now? It'll save us a lot of time."

"If I did that, I wouldn't get what I want," Atherton answered and stood up again. He pulled her cellphone out of his back pocket. "You were holding out on us, Karis."

She was definitely confused now. "What are you talking about?"

"Sam Winchester," he said simply and an uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. "A few weeks ago, we captured a demon and the things it told us…" He whistled appreciatively and then continued. "Stories of a human boy capable of all sorts of things. Exorcising a demon with his mind? An ability like that could put us at the top of the food chain."

Karis was trying very hard to find a way out of this conversation. "Demons lie, Atherton. It's what they do."

"We didn't believe it, at first," Atherton continued. "Even as it swore it was telling the truth as we killed it. But then another demon told us the exact same thing. And then another. It wasn't until recently that we learnt a name. Winchester. Imagine my surprise when the name sounded so familiar."

Karis closed her eyes out of frustration at her own stupidity and naivety. She had trusted Atherton too much and given him far too much information.

Atherton seemed pleased by her reaction and continued with his monologue. "That's right, Karis. The little brother of the infamous Dean Winchester. We did our homework, of course, and imagine our surprise when we discovered you were hunting with them again. This got me thinking. Why would you hunt with the man who broke your heart, someone you blame for getting caught by the demon? And then I realised. The demons were telling the truth about little Sammy Winchester."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Atherton," Karis lied.

He only smiled in response and it was really unsettling. "Your loyalty to the Winchesters is confusing, after what Dean put you through, but I have to say, it isn't all that surprising. I have to wonder though… would you still be so loyal to Dean if you knew the truth?"

Karis hesitated, stuck between curiosity and apprehension. She was finally getting to a good place with Dean and maybe she could let go of her anger towards him but she also hated the secrets they were keeping from each other. And Atherton never lied. He manipulated the truth, kept things to himself and would imply things but he never lied.

"Dean was in Hell," Atherton said.

"I already know that," Karis replied angrily.

Atherton didn't even look surprised or caught off guard. "But I'm guessing he didn't tell you everything. You don't find it strange that out of all the souls in Hell, the angels chose to pull him out?"

"The thought had occurred to me," she admitted quietly. She hated the fact that Atherton knew something important that she didn't but she also figured that if she gave Dean enough time, he would tell her on his own… but a part of her mind argued that Dean wasn't exactly forthcoming with uncomfortable information and by the time he chose to tell her, it might be too late.

"You are aware that the demons are attempting to set Lucifer free?" Atherton asked even though he already knew the answer. He was taking far too much pleasure from this conversation. "I hope you don't think the timing of it all is a coincidence."

Karis was starting to get annoyed. "I don't see what one thing has to do with the other."

"Tsk tsk," Atherton shook his head in mock disappointment. "Your beloved Dean Winchester broke the first seal. He set this all in motion and the angels think he's the only one who can stop it."

Karis was rendered speechless. All the deaths, all the weird phenomenon that would only lead to more death… Dean was responsible for it all? "You're lying," she accused weakly.

Atherton smiled. "We both know that isn't the case."

Then he nodded to one of his lackeys who walked over and tied a gag around her mouth. She first against it at first but there wasn't much she could do. The younger man then took a step back but he was still close enough to stop her if she tried anything.

Atherton reached into his back pocket and pulled out her cellphone. "Now, be a dear and keep quiet. I have a very important phone call to make."

* * *

"Let me get this straight: you two knuckleheads let Karis get kidnapped?" Bobby demanded angrily.

"Bobby," Dean attempted to calm him down but he was quickly cut off.

"Does it sound like I'm done?" Bobby asked and when no one interrupted him, he continued. "You two were supposed to have her back but you were too busy drinking demon blood and fighting each other to look after her."

"We know, Bobby," Sam replied quietly.

It was an understatement to say that Bobby was unimpressed to learn that Karis had disappeared on their watch. When she had been taken by the ghost, it was different. Dean only had to search one building and they all knew what they were up against. Dealing with a ghost was far simpler than dealing with whoever took Karis. On the plus side, Bobby was too angry about Karis' disappearance that he was temporarily overlooking the fact that Sam had knocked him unconscious. Dean was very tempted to blame this all on Sam since it was his fault they were at the hotel but he knew it wouldn't help find her and he was also just as much to blame. Castiel had said Dean was supposed to protect Karis and he had failed with that so far.

"Do you know of anyone who might have taken her?" Sam asked.

Bobby's anger simmered as he started to think. "Demons would be my first guess. For some reason, they're real interested in her."

"It wasn't demons," Elanna called from the kitchen. She was currently set up at the kitchen table trying to use her locator spell to find Karis but, from what Dean gathered, it wasn't going well.

Bobby took Elanna at her word with no further questions. He collapsed in his chair behind his desk and sighed. "The only hunter she had real problems with was Gordon Walker and he's dead. I mean, she even gets along with Rufus and that ain't no small feat." Then he frowned as he remembered something. "Although…"

"What?" Dean asked impatiently. He hated this sitting around and doing nothing.

"After the whole demon thing, when she started hunting again and just after Elanna left, there were a few months where she got real quiet," Bobby recalled. "She rarely spoke to her father and she didn't even stop by for one of her annoying check-ups. The rumour was she fell in with a group of dangerous hunters, scarier than Walker but she's never said a word about it."

"That doesn't sound like something Karis would do," Dean argued.

Bobby shrugged. "You didn't see her after the demon, Dean. It took her a long time to even leave the house and she never speaks about it, not even with her father. Whenever it comes up, it's like she shuts down."

Dean was silent. He hated demons for doing that to her but he hated himself more for not being around when she needed him. A few moments later, Elanna came into the room and she looked angry.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked carefully.

"I can't find her," Elanna said and her tone was definitely frustrated. "Something is actively blocking my magic which means I can't get her location."

"You can do that?" Dean asked.

Elanna sighed, like she couldn't believe they had to go over this again. "Yes, it is possible to block magic, just like it's possible to avoid demon detection and keep angels out."

"Not many people would know how to do it," Bobby pointed out.

"I know and that's what pisses me off even more," Elanna replied. "So now we don't where she is or who has her but they somehow learnt how to block me." Then her anger fizzled and she suddenly looked worried. "The last time that happened…"

Bobby shook his head defiantly. "I sent that demon back to Hell, Ellie. That exorcism would have made sure he went to the deepest, darkest pit there is."

"But it wouldn't keep him there and he isn't dead," Elanna pointed out. "It's possible the demon is back."

"When we left New Jersey, Karis got a call from her dad," Dean suddenly remembered. "There were powerful omens just after we left and she went quiet after the call."

Elanna considered it for a moment. "I know for a fact that there were no demons there but it is possible whoever took Karis is working with the demon. It isn't unheard of."

"Don't you think we're jumping to conclusions?" Sam asked.

"Perhaps," Elanna agreed. "But when it comes to this demon, it never hurts to be prepared."

"What's so bad about this demon that it has everyone on edge?" Sam asked.

Dean didn't want to admit it out loud but he was curious too. He had seen Karis take down demons without a problem and Bobby wasn't easily shaken up yet this demon managed to affect both of them.

Elanna looked hesitant to explain. "Remember how I said that one of the rules the Council of Elders enforces prevents us from making deals with demons?"

Dean had no idea where this was going. "What about it?"

"There's a reason for it," Elanna continued. "When we die, our souls don't go to Heaven or Hell. The explanation is confusing and everyone has a different version of it but simply put, our souls are different to mortals and continue to fuel magic in the world when we die. Our souls are never meant to go to Heaven or Hell. Our souls affect them but they also affect our souls. It has something to do with the magic within them. It's almost impossible to predict what will happen if our souls go to Hell."

Sam sighed quietly, mostly because he was still trying to figure out all of this sorcery business. Dean got a detailed explanation but Sam was given the headlines and was attempting to fill in the blanks as they went. Even though he was confused, Dean felt satisfied about it after everything he had put them through over the past few days and even weeks.

"I'm assuming this demon used to be a sorcerer," Sam guessed.

Elanna nodded her head slowly. "His name is Elias and he is the only one in our history to ignore the rule. He sold his soul to a demon in exchange for greater power. Things didn't go according to plan. His body couldn't handle it and demons aren't exactly equipped to handle our magic. Elias died because of the deal and his soul went to Hell. The Council wanted to intervene but it happened too fast. They hoped his soul would be destroyed in Hell since no one knew what would happen."

"But he became a demon instead," Dean finished for her.

Elanna grimaced. "Yes and no."

"What does that mean?" Dean asked and exchanged a look with Bobby."

"He became the black smoke version of a demon and needs a vessel. He also can do everything demons can," Elanna explained. "But he still has his magic, he still has his memories of before he went to Hell and from time to time, with enough power, he can materialize without needing a vessel." Then she paused but her expression was unnerving.

"What's wrong?" Sam sounded just as uncomfortable as Dean felt.

"We have no idea how to kill him," Elanna finished.

Before Sam and Dean could demand how that was possible, Bobby interjected. "Most exorcisms are useless against him, even the ones powerful enough to send most demons back to Hell permanently. Ellie's Council tried a lot of things over the years and nothing."

"And it doesn't help that he's a really old demon," Elanna mentioned. "Because he gets more powerful over time and during the time he was alive, there were different rules enforced by the Council so he knows magic that is forbidden to us now. Basically, we have no idea what he's capable of or how to kill him. He just keeps crawling back, no matter how many times we exorcise him."

Sam gave Dean a meaningful look and Dean shrugged in response. Then Sam pulled out Ruby's knife. "Would this work?"

Elanna looked surprised but she took the knife and examined it closely. "Where did you get a knife of the Kurds?"

Dean frowned. "A what now?"

Elanna looked up. "That's a history lesson for another time although I would suggest you boys start researching your weapons before you use them." She passed the knife back to Sam. "I don't know if it will work o Elias. If the demons are powerful enough, the knife is useless."

Dean resisted the urge to march out of the room in anger. "That's just great," he commented irritably.

Elanna looked like she had something to say in response but she was cut off when Dean's cellphone started to ring. He fully intended on ignoring the call but when he looked at the caller ID, he quickly changed his mind and answered the call.

"Karis?"

Bobby, Sam and Elanna immediately focused on him, hoping to figure out what was happening based on his reactions and his half of the conversation.

"_I'm afraid Miss Drakos is unable to come to the phone right now, Mr Winchester,"_ an unknown voice explained.

"Who is this?" Dean demanded angrily.

"_I have to admit that your relationship with Miss Drakos is quite befuddling. You break her heart and abandon her yet the level of protectiveness I detect in your voice implies you actually care about her,"_ the mystery caller went on. _"And her level of loyalty to you and your brother is quite admirable though misplaced."_

"What do you want?"

"_First things first, I want you to put me on speaker. I would hate to repeat myself unnecessarily,"_ the man instructed.

Dean reluctantly followed his instructions. "You're on speaker."

"_Excellent. Now, before we get things moving, I assume you'll demand proof of life."_

There was a moment of silence and then the sound of someone being slapped hard. The slight grunt of pain was unmistakeably Karis. Dean had no idea who this man was but he was in for a world of hurt as soon as Dean found him. Bobby, Sam and Elanna were just as angry on Karis' behalf.

"_Are there any doubts or do you require more proof?"_ He sounded almost hopeful that he would get to hurt Karis even more.

"It's enough," Dean said through gritted teeth. As much as he hated this man, he didn't want to say anything that would cause her more pain.

"_Good. Now, onto the business at hand. We want your brother and in exchange, we won't kill your beloved Karis. You have an hour to decide and if we don't hear back from you, we'll assume a negative answer."_ With that, he hung up.

The room was silent as they tried to figure out what had just happened and why they would want Sam.

"Why me?" Sam asked quietly and to no one in particular.

"We don't even know who that was," Dean pointed out.

"I know his voice," Bobby remarked softly.

Elanna looked surprised. "You do?"

"Unfortunately," Bobby answered. "A fella by the name of Atherton Miller."

"Judging from your disapproving tone, he's the dangerous hunter Karis fell in with?" Elanna guessed.

Bobby nodded. "Hunters stay clear of him. He has a dangerous way of thinking."

Sam frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He thinks the monsters we hunt should serve humanity and that humanity should be at the top of the food chain," Bobby explained. "But he also thinks only the strongest should survive and would often experiment on captured monsters to try to figure out how to get their strengths and none of their weaknesses."

"That might be why he's interested in Sam," Elanna realised.

"Perhaps," Bobby agreed. "But don't let his crazy ideas fool you. He's an intelligent man and as ruthless as they come."

Sam looked over to Dean. "So, what do you want to do?"

* * *

Karis wanted nothing more than to hurl a long string of insults at Atherton and his cronies but after the quick phone call, they took the gag off and left the room, leaving her alone once again. She had no idea what Dean would decide to do since it seemed like an impossible choice but she knew the situation would cause Dean to overlook one important detail: Atherton hadn't agreed to exchange her for Sam; he only agreed not to kill her. The only thing she hated more than Atherton at the moment was the fact that she was being used as a bargaining chip. She had to find some way out of this situation but a way out of the chair first would be great.

There was the option to pray to Olympus for help but that wouldn't do much. The Olympian gods had a strict policy: they could not interfere directly with mortal affairs and their powers were not as strong as they once had been. There might be a sharp object somewhere in the area but moving around and making too much noise would only cause the guards to come in and check. If she tried to reach for her knife, she would probably only succeed in hurting herself or falling over which definitely would not help. Out of annoyance, Karis huffed and then decided a quick prayer wouldn't make the situation worse so why not do it?

Karis said a quick prayer – and even did it in Ancient Greek just to make sure it was heard – and then waited for a few minutes. Nothing happened. Of course not. When she got bored of waiting, Karis decided she might as well check the room for something. It wasn't like she had anything better to do with her time. Even though her ankles were tied together, she managed to push herself backwards. Apparently of all the wheelie chairs in the world she could have been tied to, she was tied to one with squeaky wheels. It wouldn't take long for someone to come investigate so she froze, trying to hear if anyone was coming.

There was only silence so she continued to push herself across the room. She had no idea where she was going since it hurt to continually look over her shoulder but after a few minutes of very slow progress, a door slammed shut somewhere. Karis froze again and listened intently. The door suddenly opened and she did her hardest to look like she wasn't up to anything and a part of her was glad she hadn't actually made any progress at all… although she had to wonder how much time had passed if Atherton was coming to see her again. Was it possible that Dean's time to make a decision was up already? Or maybe he had phoned ahead of schedule with a decision. Karis had no idea which possibly she liked the least.

Atherton and his two guards approached, apparently not noticing (or maybe just not caring) that she had moved the chair a few inches across the room. He nodded to them and the shorter of the pair approached and cut the rope around her ankles. The taller one then roughly pulled her to her feet and just as she started to put up a fight, Atherton cleared his throat.

"You really don't want to try my patience now, Karis," he warned. "Do anything other than what you are told and we'll put that pain tolerance of yours to the test."

Karis believed every word so she decided that if she was going to try to escape, she would have to do it when he wasn't watching her. She also wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of asking what was going on. Truth be told, she didn't want to know. Knowing that Dean didn't make a choice was just as bad as knowing if he did choose. The tall henchman untied the rope around her wrists as well but as soon as he was done, the short one brought her wrists in front of her and handcuffed them. Handcuffs were easier to get out of than rope but it also meant they could watch what she was doing now.

"We're going for a ride," Atherton informed her.

He seemed disappointed when she didn't ask where they were going or what was happening and he didn't offer up the information either. However, Karis did notice he seemed a bit happier than he had been earlier so she could only assume Dean had made a decision: he was going to hand over Sam and expected to get her in return. While she didn't approve of Sam's powers or how he got them, she really did not wish any of this on him. All she could hope now was that she could figure out some way of escaping so the deal was unnecessary. Unfortunately, that was not going to be as easy as it sounded.


End file.
